Human rights activists have criticized some township and district-level judges in Arakan State for blatantly violating the law by colluding with the military council.
Most of the people arrested on suspicion of having links with the Arakan Army (AA) in the state have suffered from the fact that the trials have been postponed several times because the military plaintiffs have not appeared in court.
However, the judges have not yet used their power to summon them.
On 14 March, 14 people, including U Win Maung, the administrator of Zayti Taung district in Kyaukphyu, who had been charged under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act, were brought before the township court.
However, as the plaintiffs, Captain Shine Htet Aung and another officer of the rank of captain, did not show up for the hearing, the trial was postponed until 21 March, family members of the defendants said.
Similarly, on 14 March, U Aung Kyaw Hla, alias Nyu Daung Chay, the administrator of Okkarpyan Ward in Minbya, was brought before the township court, but the trial was postponed until the following week because no judge was present, said the accused’s wife, Daw Oo Mya Yi.
The military council had arrested five local residents, including U Aung Kyaw Hla, at around 4 am on 8 Oct. 2022, who was charged under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act.
Also on 10 March, U Hla Maung Thein was brought before the Sittwe District Court, but the hearing was postponed until 24 March because the plaintiff from Light Infantry Battalion 354 and Sittwe Township Judge U Win Naing did not attend the hearing, a family member of the accused told Narinjara News.
He went on to say that the complainant failed to appear for the trial three times in a row, on 10 February, 28 February and 10 March, and had also failed to appear in the past.
On 17 March, U Oo Kyaw Hla,60, the Daingnet administrator of Tat Min Chaung village, and U U Armihusaung, 60, the administrator of Mee Kyaung Zay Muslim village, who are suspected of being linked to the AA, were brought before the court, but the hearing was adjourned because Captain Nay Min of the junta’s strategic camp in Buthidaung and Captain Soe Win of the Border Guard Force failed to appear for the hearing.
U Myat Tun, director of the Arakan Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Association (AHRDPA), criticized that it was a dictatorial act for the regime’s plaintiffs to repeatedly fail to appear at trials involving those arrested on suspicion of links to AA.
“When a case is filed in a court, everyone, whether witness or plaintiff, must attend the trial. If they do not, it would be contempt of court. It would put them in a dictatorial position if they do what they want, arrest people and do not show up for the trial to demonstrate their power. If they do not show up, the judge can summon them or issue a final arrest warrant according to the law,” he said.
The families have suffered greatly from the fact that trials have been repeatedly delayed because both the plaintiffs and the judges have failed to appear.
Sent by Narinjara News.