Myanmar junta charges American citizen monk with terrorism

Sources close to Sayadaw Badanda Pinnya Zawta, a monk and former political prisoner living in the United States, said he is scheduled to face trial in Myanmar next week, a month after junta authorities detained and reportedly beat him. The military charged Pinnya Zawta, 64, under two sections of Myanmar’s Counterterrorism Law, section 13(1) of the Myanmar Immigration (Emergency Provisions) Act, and Section 505a of the Penal Code on sedition. One of the relevant sections of the Counterterrorism Law relates to providing financial support to terrorists, and a conviction on charges under this section carries a minimum sentence of ten year and a maximum sentence of life in prison. The US embassy in Yangon has been following the case and assisting Sayadaw, who is now a United States (US) citizen. Pinnya Zawta, who now resides in Buffalo, New York in the US, applied lawfully for a visa at a junta-controlled embassy and travelled back to Myanmar for a short visit on November 5, according to lay disciples close to him. His disciples said he returned to Myanmar at their invitation to attend the foundation stone-laying ceremony for an ordination hall in Nwe Khway village in Yangon’s Mingaladon Township. Junta troops arrested him in Yangon’s Insein Township eight days after his arrival. The authorities reportedly took his robes while he was in their custody, interrogated him and transferred him to Insein Prison. His trial is slated to begin this Monday at the prison court. Sources close to Sayadaw claim he was beaten during his interrogation. “The junta exploits religion for its own purposes. They won’t hesitate to target even a Sayadaw to get the answers they want,” said Zawana, another former political prisoner and monk who moved to the US, using a term for senior monks. “Monks have suffered arrest and torture under every dictatorship,” Zawana added. Friends of Pinnya Zawta expressed grave concern about his predicament, and hoped that his US citizenship status would help to ensure his release in short order. Hailing from Natmauk in Magway Region, Pinnya Zawta is commonly known as ‘Nat Zaw’ within the community of former and current political prisoners. He is remembered for his leadership in the cause of nonviolent resistance against the military’s oppression, including his role in the Saffron Revolution, a movement that arose in 2007 to call for democracy in Myanmar. He was also arrested by the earlier military dictatorship’s intelligence agencies and imprisoned in Insein and Thayarwaddy prisons for his participation in a 1990 boycott and 1996 student protests. To avoid recapture following his participation in the Saffron Revolution, he emigrated to Maesot, Thailand, and was later granted asylum in the US. His trip to Myanmar last month was his first visit to his home country since the 2021 military coup. However, sources close to him confirmed that he also returned during the civilian-led administration of the National League for Democracy, the ruling party in Myanmar from 2016 until the coup.

Myanmar junta charges American citizen monk with terrorism

The military arrested Pinnya Zawta, a US citizen and prominent participant in the Saffron Revolution of 2007, reportedly beating him during interrogation

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