10 years added to sentence of food courier accused of insulting Myanmar junta leader

A Yangon man who posted a satirical Facebook message about Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has been sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison on terrorism-related charges, bringing his total prison term to 13 years, according to a source close to his family. Kyi Myo Zaw, 54, was sentenced on June 25 by a junta-controlled court under Section 50j of Myanmar’s Counter-Terrorism Law after previously receiving a three-year prison term with hard labour under Section 505a of the Penal Code for incitement, the source said. “I heard the ruling was issued on June 25. He was initially sentenced to three years, and the verdict on the terrorism charge had remained pending. I have not heard that he was granted amnesty for the Section 505 case, so his total sentence is now 13 years,” a woman close to the family told Myanmar Now. Kyi Myo Zaw, who used Facebook to advertise his food delivery business, was arrested on January 5 after a pro-junta Telegram channel highlighted a satirical post in which he suggested that Min Aung Hlaing should meet the same fate as Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who had been taken into custody during a raid by US forces days earlier Following his arrest, Kyi Myo Zaw was questioned about unusually high transactions through the KPay mobile payment system, according to sources. After three days at an interrogation centre, he was transferred to Hlaing Township Police Station, where he was charged under Section 505a of the Penal Code and Section 50j of the Counter-Terrorism Law. Family members are concerned about his health following injuries allegedly sustained during interrogation, according to the woman close to the family. She said he also suffers from heart valve stenosis, fatty heart disease, and kidney disease. Kyi Myo Zaw received his initial sentence just weeks after the regime announced a mass amnesty that saw more than 10,000 prisoners released nationwide, including more than 7,000 convicted under Sections 50j and 52a of the Counter-Terrorism Law. An order was also issued to close 9,532 cases being tried under the same provisions. Section 50j of the Counter-Terrorism Law, under which Kyi Myo Zaw had been charged, criminalises financing or receiving funds for organisations designated as terrorist groups. Kyi Myo Zaw had previously been imprisoned in 2021 for protesting that year’s coup. After his release two years later, he did not return to his former job as a driver for the Yangon Bus Service, but instead earned a living preparing and delivering meal boxes. “When he was a YBS driver, he was very popular for the care he showed to passengers. But he didn’t go back to driving after his release from prison. Instead, he started his food delivery service,” the woman said. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, 31,254 people had been arrested for opposing the military takeover as of June 26, with 22,257 remaining in detention.

10 years added to sentence of food courier accused of insulting Myanmar junta leader

The additional sentence, for allegedly supporting terrorist organisations, brings Kyi Myo Zaw’s total prison term to 13 years

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