A former parliamentary candidate is among two men in southern Rakhine State who were charged with terrorism offences on Wednesday for allegedly supporting the anti-junta People’s Defence Force (PDF), their lawyer has said.
Sein Chit, 42, competed for a seat for the Arakan Front Party (AFP) in the 2020 general election and is well known in the coastal town for his charitable work. He was charged at the Thandwe Township Court along with Ye Naing Oo, a 24-year-old taxi driver.
The pair face up to seven years in prison under Section 52a of the so-called Counter-Terrorism Law, said Theingi Maung, the lawyer helping with their case.
Section 52a prohibits organising or participating in “terrorist acts” as well as harbouring or arranging transport for any “terrorist” or “member of a terrorist group”
“The two of them pleaded not guilty,” the lawyer said.
The defence will examine a prosecution witness named Sergeant Kyaw Min at the next hearing on March 17, he added.
Sein Chit was arrested at his home on October 9 while Ye Naing Oo was detained at the Ngapali Hotel later that month. A military captain named Nay Zaw Htet from Infantry Battalion 55 filed the case against them.
Ye Naing Oo worked with Sein Chit on local charitable projects.
Sein Chit’s wife, Khin Hnin Phyu, said her husband was arrested based on a statement given under duress by a detained student from Maupin Township in Ayeyarwady Region.
“The student they arrested as a PDF suspect was examined as a witness at Sein Chit’s court hearing two weeks ago and he testified that he had never seen him before and that he only said that he knew him during his interrogation because he was forced to do so,” she said.
Her husband did not give any support to the PDF but he helped a group of students pay for transport in Thandwe at the request of a students’ union, she said.
“He wasn’t funding the PDF. He is a naturally very charitable person. He only helped when his acquaintances asked for help,” she added.
When she met her husband at the court hearing on Wednesday, he had a rash from an allergic reaction and was suffering from a stomach ache, she said.
Min Dipar, a young author from a village named Pan Maw in Mrauk-U Township, was also arrested in October last year. Late last month he was given ten years in prison with hard labour under the anti-terror law.
Last week a young man from Thandwe called Zayar was sentenced to a year and one month in prison for allegedly leading an anti-coup protest.
Over 10 people are facing charges for funding the PDF in Rakhine State. They include Nyein Ei Phyo Kyaw, who was jailed last year along with her two-year-old daughter. The child later died in prison.
