There were 580 people arrested and charged for their political activities till the end of October, according to a statement released by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) in the first week of this month.
Of the over 580, 36 are serving prison sentences, 193 facing trial inside prison and 355 facing outside prison.
“Till the end of October, there were around 850 people arrested and charged for their political activities. Some have received prison sentences, some are awaiting trial inside prison and some are awaiting trial outside prison after being granted bail,” said Aung Myo Kyaw, in-charge of AAPP office in Yangon.
He said all those cases happened under the current government.
According to the AAPP statement, October alone saw 142 people arrested, 25 charged and 12 sentenced but 111 released from prison.
AAPP has now demanded unconditional release of political prisoners and those being charged for their political activities as the country has held the general election and both the military and Arakan Army have issued their statements carrying positive attitudes.
“If they (government) try to achieve genuine national reconciliation by dismissing such cases unconditionally and if we all can cooperate to achieve real internal peace, we will see a very good situation,” Aung Myo Kyaw commented.
Of those who were sued in October, 21 are civilians, lawyers, village administrators and students from Taungup, Sittway, Kayuktaw and Am townships of Rakhine State. Of the remaining four, two are students from Mandalay, one is from a military family member and one is the organizer of an ethnic party.
They were charged under the anti-terrorism law, the telecommunications law and the penal code.
Of the 142 people arrested in October, 122 were accused of having links with the Arkan Army. They are from some townships of Rakhine State and Paletwa township of Chin State, AAPP says.
The 12 people who received prison sentences in October include nine students and two political activists charged under section 505 (a) of the penal code and section 19 of the peaceful assembly and procession law and one policeman charged under the anti-terrorism law.
AAPP remarked that taking actions against students and worker activists under the peaceful assembly and procession law and the penal code has made the freedom of expression extremely vulnerable. The failure to ensure the freedom of expression, a foundation of human rights will see other fundamental rights decline.
The AAPP statement also points out the arrests made by some ethnic armed groups in Octoberr. The Arakan Army arrested three parliamentary candidates and three civilians while the Karen National Union arrested three civilians and one teacher. Some people arrested by some ethnic armed groups were also released in October.
