Irrawaddy-May 30
The use of the death penalty in Myanmar has increased at an alarming rate under military rule, with nearly 90 people sentenced to death by military tribunals since the coup last year, rights group Amnesty International (AI) said. Based on media reports and other limited number of sources available, including military-controlled state media, AI said that at least 86 death sentences have been handed down since February 2021. The majority of those were against anti-regime resistance members or people with ties to the resistance movement. From 2017-20 in Myanmar, during which the elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government was in office, the number of death penalty cases averaged fewer than 10 per year; since the coup that number has increased by about eight times. Shortly after the coup, martial law was imposed in Hlaing Tharyar, Shwe Pyi Thar, North Okkalar, North Dagon, South Dagon and Eastern Dagon (Seikkan) townships. Most of the death sentences were imposed in these townships. The military transferred the civilian cases to special and military tribunals through summary proceedings in which the defendant did not have the right to appeal. Most of the death sentences were imposed arbitrarily—several without the defendants being present, according to the AI statement. Since the coup on Feb. 1, 2021, about 1,085 people have been sentenced to prison in Myanmar and an estimated 1,864 people killed by the junta, according to data from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which documents fatalities and arrests at the hands of the military regime’s forces. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/death-penalty-cases-soar-in-myanmar-since-coup.html
