From Human Rights Watch

(Bangkok) – Myanmar authorities should quash the convictions of three ethnic Kachin activists found guilty of defaming the military, Human Rights Watch said today. Zau Jat, Lum Zawng, and Nang Pu were each sentenced to six months in prison and a 500,000 kyat (US$320) fine on December 7, 2018, for raising the plight of civilians trapped by fighting between the Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s armed forces, and a Kachin armed group.

“The Tatmadaw is once again using criminal defamation laws to punish those who criticize its actions,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director. “By filing charges against activists who simply urged help for civilians trapped by fighting, Myanmar’s military shows its unwillingness to curtail serious abuses.”

On April 30 and May 1, after fighting in Kachin State between the Myanmar army and the Kachin Independence Army trapped thousands of displaced civilians in areas without access to humanitarian aid, more than 3,000 ethnic Kachin staged a peaceful protest in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, to call for their rescue.

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