21 December 2021 :

More than 90 people have been sentenced to death by military courts in Myanmar’s Yangon region since the country’s army overthrew civilian rule in a Feb. 1 coup, according to reports in Myanmar’s junta-controlled media.
Five youths were sentenced on Dec. 16 in Yangon’s South Dagon township for allegedly shooting and killing a local administrator, and another two — identified as Hein Htet Aung and Aukkar Thein —were sentenced in North Dagon township on Dec. 3.
Six others, including Htet Paing Soe, also called Pho Htet, from South Dagon Myothit, and 15 others from Dagon Seikkan township, including Khin Wint Kyaw Maung and Zin Min Kyaw, were also handed death sentences, bringing the total to 28 between November and mid-December.
The number of people on death row in the six Yangon townships under martial law has now risen to 92, of whom 42 were sentenced in absentia, according to official figures.
Speaking to RFA, San San Aye — the mother of four of the youths sentenced in South Dagon — said she feels great sympathy for the parents of other young men condemned to die.
“I have suffered emotionally, and I’m sure they are no different from me,” she said. “No matter who you are, you will feel the same if your children meet this fate. My two sons and two adopted sons are now on death row. I don’t want these people to suffer like me.”
One of her two sons, Thaw Zin Naing, also called Khaing Myair, is now being held in Taungoo prison, while her second son San Naing, also called Shwe Ngar, was sent to prison in central Myanmar’s Mandalay, she said. Her two adopted sons — Soe Phyae Aung, also called Aung Aung, and Aung Myo Lin, also called Kyethpha — are in custody in prisons in Myingyan and in Kyaikmaraw.
Persons tried by military tribunals in the six Yangon townships under martial law have lost the right to legal representation normally provided under Myanmar law and have almost always received sentences of life in prison or death, sources said.
Veteran Myanmar lawyer Pho Phyu said that junta security forces routinely torture detainees to force confessions that can be used against them in court.
“Handing out sentences based on these statements is not in accordance with the law,” he said.
The verdicts handed down by Myanmar’s military courts testify to the loss of human rights and collapse of an independent judiciary in the country, said Aung Myo Min, human rights minister for Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government.
“These cases just show the world how much the rule of law has disappeared and how much people have lost their rights, and they show how much democracy is being threatened in Myanmar,” he said.
A former political prisoner who was sentenced to death during an earlier period of military rule said that the people now condemned by military courts should not lose hope.
“It’s terrifying when they give you this orange prison uniform after handing down the death penalty, and even if you’ve been in prison before, you can feel your legs trembling as you walk down to the death cell,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“Those now in prison, along with their family members, must not lose hope that they might go free one day. Our lives can always take a new turn when the political situation changes in the country,” he said.
Myanmar’s junta has killed 1,348 civilians and arrested 8,131 since February, mostly during non-violent protests against the coup, according to the Bangkok-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

28 June 2021 :

At least 64 Myanmar citizens detained in protests against the country’s Feb. 1 military coup have been sentenced to death by junta courts, with the condemned list including two boys below the age of 18, according to sources in the country.
Most were arrested in townships in the former capital Yangon, where martial law was declared following the army’s takeover on Feb. 1, sources say. None of those sentenced are believed to have been executed, though, with no death sentences known to have been carried out in Myanmar since 1998.
Writing in a letter to his mother sent from prison, one of those condemned—17-year-old Nyein Kyaw Thein, formerly a student at the Thanlyin Youth Training School—denied his guilt in the case of a coup supporter, Zaw Min, who was murdered and set on fire in Yangon’s South Dagon township at the end of March.
“They have called me a killer, but it isn’t true. I didn’t kill anyone,” Nyein Kyaw Thein said, asking his mother to stay strong and look after herself and his father. “Everything’s fine with me. I’ve made you miserable, Mom, and I’d like to make it up to you when I come back, I promise,” he added.
Arrested that same day, 15-year-old Min Thu, a 7th grade student in the school attended by Nyein Kyaw Thein, turned himself in to authorities after being told that his brother-in-law had been detained to force his surrender, his sister said.
“I asked my brother if he had been involved in the killing, and he denied it,” the young woman said. “But someone told him that the police had arrested my husband because they couldn’t find him, and so he gave himself up.”
“He’s a good boy, not a bad kid at all,” she said. “He tells us that [the police] have stopped beating him now, but he’s still being abused by others,” she added.
Four brothers who were working on security duty in their ward of the city on the night of the killing were later taken away from their home at gunpoint after they went to see the murder scene out of curiosity, their mother said, also speaking to RFA.
“At the time, I couldn’t say anything, but it was heartbreaking to see my boys taken from their home in handcuffs,” she said. “We heard nothing about them after that, but later learned that they had been sentenced to death.”
Of the 18 defendants sentenced to death in the Zaw Min case, 11 are now in prison and seven were sentenced in absentia, sources say.
Myanmar defendants sentenced to death can appeal their sentences within 15 days, but only prison officials are allowed to submit their appeals, lawyers say, with one lawyer telling RFA that officials assigned by prison authorities to submit the documents prepare them according to statements made by the prisoners themselves.
“And we don’t know whether what they’ve written is in accord with the law or not,” he said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a spokesperson for the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said the death sentences imposed by military courts in Myanmar have been handed down “out of resentment.”
“People don’t support their coup and are opposing it in any way they can. And amid all the arbitrary arrests and beatings, the people are fighting back in self-defense. The military then holds a grudge against the people, and they are handing down these death sentences out of resentment,” he said.
Nickey Diamond, a human rights specialist with the Southeast Asian rights group Fortify Rights, said that in recent years death sentences formerly imposed in Myanmar were changed under new laws to sentences of life in prison.
“But there are fears now that the [ruling] Military Council might ignore this fact.”
“These [death sentences] are the junta’s attempt to intimidate those who are opposing the dictatorship and to make them afraid,” he said.
According to data gathered by AAPP and RFA, of the 64 persons sentenced to death in Yangon since the Feb. 1 coup, 20 were sentenced in North Okkalapa, 18 in South Dagon, five in Shwepyithar, seven in Hlaing Thar Yar, and 14 in Shwe Paukkan Myothit.

10 April 2021 :

Nineteen people have been sentenced to death in Myanmar for killing an associate of an army captain in a district of Yangon, the military owned Myawaddy television station said on 9 April 2021. It said 17 of the people were sentenced in absentia.
They were the first such sentences announced in public since a 1 February coup.
The television said the killing took place on 27 March in the North Okkalapa district of Myanmar’s biggest city. Martial law has been declared in the district, allowing court martials to pronounce sentences.

17 March 2021 :

Amid growing violence in Myanmar following the 1st February coup, the ruling military on 16 March imposed a death penalty as a possible punishment for treason, dissent, and other offenses against the government.
As part of its martial law order, the State Administration Council of the military, set up following the forceful takeover, said it would also assume the administration of Yangon's courts, reported Kyodo News.
Amid its growing attempts to quell growing protests against the coup, the junta said it would impose harsh sentences, including lengthy prison terms or even death, for offenses including treason and dissent, obstructing the military or civil service, spreading false news and incitement of fear, according to local media.
The offenses are among 23 categories of crimes that the order says are subject to court-martial with no appeals allowed for decisions or convictions.
However, an application to reverse a death sentence could be made to Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, chairman of the State Administration Council, within 15 days of a conviction, the order said.
Martial law was declared in two Yangon townships, Hlaingthaya and the neighboring township of Shwepyithar, on 14 March after the military opened fire on anti-coup demonstrators, killing at least 38 people, followed by orders in four more townships in Yangon on 15 March.

15 February 2021 :

Myanmar's new military-led State Administration Council on 12 February 2021 announced the remittances of more than 23,000 prisoners, both local and foreigners, as protests against the coup continued for a seventh consecutive day.
Council chair Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General
Min Aung Hlaing granted pardon to the inmates -- 23,314 local, 55 foreigners -- who received punishments for any offence before 31 January 2021, reports Xinhua news agency.
The move comes on the country's 74th Union Day, which marks the historical Panglong Conference held in Shan state, during which the Panglong Agreement was signed on 12 February 1947. Myanmar regained independence on 4 January 1948.
The state pardon order reduced the death penalty to life imprisonment with no possibility of release, life imprisonment with no possibility of release to 40 years, excluding those who have been pardoned from the death penalty to life imprisonment in the previous amnesty orders.
Terms for prisoners who have been sentenced to life imprisonment in the previous amnesty orders will be reduced to 50 years, punishment of more than 40 years of imprisonment will be reduced to 40 years while 40 years and under are cut one-fourth, the Council said.
The moves aim to turn the prisoners into decent citizens, to please the public and to create the humanitarian and compassionate grounds while establishing a new democratic state with peace, development and disciplines, it added.
Min Aung Hlaing said the remittances were part of an effort to build a "democratic country with disciplines".
According to a CNN report, mass prisoner releases are common on national holidays in Myanmar.
But this is the first such amnesty under the current rule of the military under Min Aung Hlaing, which seized power in a coup on 1 February, ousting former de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The military detained Suu Kyi, former President U Win Myint and other senior members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party.
Besides the coup, which was staged over the disputed results of the 8 November 2020, parliamentary elections, the military also declared a year-long state of emergency and handed over the state power to the Commander-in-Chief.
Despite a ban on gatherings in Myanmar, protests continued on 12 February against the coup in major cities, including Nay Pyi Taw, Mandalay and Yangon.

14 April 2021 :

Myanmar's state-run television reported on 13 April 2021 that seven people had been sentenced to death by court-martial for their roles in the killing of a woman who purportedly cooperated with the military.
The military has intensified its crackdown on protesters and others opposed to its rule following a February coup.
Nineteen people were sentenced to death by court-martial last week for the killing of an associate of an army officer in the largest city Yangon.
The seven either committed or aided in the killing of the woman on 15 March in an area of Yangon where martial law has been declared, according to the report.
She had purportedly leaked information about protesters and others.
Nineteen others were sentenced to three to seven years in prison for their roles in the case. The sentences were dated on 12 April.
In areas where martial law has been declared, serious crimes are tried by court-martial, with the maximum penalty being death. No appeals are permitted.
Security forces had killed 714 people in Myanmar as of 13 April since the military seized power, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which monitors the situation in the Southeast Asian country.

21 July 2021 :

The Myanmar junta’s military tribunals have sentenced 65 people to death following unjust trials since the military coup on 1 February 2021, Human Rights Watch said on 21 July 2021.
State media and local groups have reported that 26 of those sentenced are currently detained, while 39 were convicted in absentia.
Military tribunals handed down the death sentences in areas of Yangon where the junta declared martial law in March. In imposing martial law, the junta transferred all executive and judicial power to the head of the relevant regional military command and instituted the death penalty as a possible sentence for 23 crimes.
On 14 and 15 March, the State Administration Council (SAC) junta declared martial law in 11 townships in Yangon and Mandalay, following a weekend in which security forces killed an estimated 120 people during anti-coup protests.
The Yangon commander, Maj. Gen. Nyunt Win Swe, was granted oversight of all administrative and judicial powers in the designated Yangon townships.
The martial law orders lay out 23 categories of crimes to be charged in military tribunals in the designated townships, all of them carrying a potential sentence of capital punishment. The designated offenses include several put in place by the junta since the coup. The majority are not capital crimes in civilian courts.
The 65 death sentences have been imposed for murder charges under penal code sections 302, 396, and 397.
The martial law regulations require the SAC chair, Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, to approve all execution orders. They also state there is “no appeal for decisions or convictions handed down” by a military tribunal.
The only option for defendants sentenced to death is to apply to the SAC chair within 15 days of the conviction to reverse the decision.
Min Aung Hlaing has the authority to overturn the decision, change the sentence to a lesser penalty, or approve the decision. The applications can only be filed through prison officials, not lawyers, Radio Free Asia reported.

04 July 2021 :

At least 883 unarmed civilians have been killed by security forces in Myanmar since the military seizure of power in early February and 126 have been sentenced to death, United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing on 29 June 2021.
“The UN country team says there were reports that security forces have killed what we believe is a minimum number of 883 unarmed people, of whom at least 40 have reportedly died while in custody. The team also tells us that 60 children have been killed since a military takeover on 1st February,” Dujarric said.
“A total of 5,202 people are in detention as a result of their opposition to the military takeover. Of these people, 126 people have been sentenced to death,” Dujarric said.
The United Nations in the country continues to strongly condemn the “widespread” use of force by security forces, including live ammunition, he added.

12 May 2021 :

At least 783 people have been killed by the Myanmar military as of 11 May since a February coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
The group recorded two additional deaths from Kachin State on 10 May that were documented on 11 May.
“Currently a total of 3,859 people are under detention. 1,581 of them have been issued arrest warrants, 20 were sentenced to death and 14 were sentenced to three years imprisonment,” it wrote in a daily report.
Myanmar's military junta remains in power 100 days since the coup as regime forces continue to use varied forms of violence and torture against civilians.
“During these 100 days, civilians have been exposed to various forms of persecution and have had their properties looted and destroyed on a daily basis,” said AAPP.
The civil society group said junta forces’ unprovoked shooting is worsening by the day.
Veterinarian Sai Aik Kwan was captured 8 May by junta forces. Soldiers tied him up, shot him in the head and left his body next to a drain.
After his family recovered his body, soldiers confiscated the body on day of his funeral. They returned it with his head dismembered.
“On the death certificate, they claimed he (Sai) died of a drug overdose, while it is clear that he was brutally murdered,” said AAPP.
Junta forces also continue to oppress public servants involved in the Civil Disobedience Movement.
"It seems that civilians have been left to defend themselves and end this dictatorship on their own," said the group.
In addition, business, political, social, and health sectors are all on the verge of collapse.
"Civilians have been unable to access healthcare and COVID-19 tracing halted, putting the population at risk of facing a third wave of pandemic,” it said.

15 April 2021 :

A person who suffers from mental illness was sentenced to death along with 18 other people by Myanmar’s military regime on 8 April 2021 after being accused of banditry and murder in North Okkalapa Township, Yangon, in late March.
On 27 March, an army officer and his civilian friend were attacked by 19 people in Nya ward in the township, according to the regime.
During the attack, an army officer was injured and his friend allegedly stabbed to death and a pistol and radiophone were taken from the officer.
Ko Aung Aung Htet, who suffers from mental illness, and the 18 other suspects were charged under Articles 396 and 397 of the Penal Code.
The court-martial sentenced them all to death for committing dacoity – an Indian term for banditry – with murder.
Only Ko Aung Aung Htet and another suspect, Ko Bo Bo Nge, are in detention while the other 17 are in hiding.
Ko Aung Aung Htet’s mother claims he only witnessed the attack from a distance.
Due to a mental illness caused by alcohol abuse, Ko Aung Aung Htet has been treated at a mental health hospital and was on medication, his mother told The Irrawaddy.
“I feel pain over the sentence. Please release my son as he is innocent,” she said.