Mizzima-Sept 26
The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) issued a statement on 23 September, declaring that military council’s imposition of the death penalty through private court proceedings, without adhering to the fundamental principles of fair trials, constitutes a serious international crime. The IIMM indicated that it is closely monitoring these executions. According to their statement, information received suggested that the military council conducted a closed-door hearing in Insein Prison in 2023, where death sentences were imminent for certain inmates. Furthermore, the IIMM asserted that the military council’s application of the death penalty based on grievances represents a crime against humanity. The organization emphasized that executions should be conducted transparently and in public. It raised concerns over the military council’s adherence to legal standards and respect for judicial guarantees. Reports have emerged in the past week that seven inmates sentenced to death at Yangon’s Insein Prison will be executed on 24 September. The Naypyidaw Correction Department also confirmed they had no knowledge of the situation. Additionally, military council spokesperson Major General Zaw Min Tun told BBC Burmese he had not received any information regarding the death sentence reports from Insein Prison. In July 2022, the military council executed four individuals – U Phyo Zeya Thaw, U Jimmy, U Aung Thura Zaw, and U Hla Myo Aung – who were sentenced to death by junta courts. They were hanged inside Insein Prison. The military council’s media outlets reported that the executions were conducted “in accordance with prison procedures,” although they did not specify the exact dates of these actions. According to daily records from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), since the military coup in 2021, the military council has sentenced 167 individuals to death across the country, with 123 receiving sentences while in prison and 44 sentenced in absentia. Read more at: https://eng.mizzima.com/2024/09/26/14406
