Myanmar’s resistance government arrests fugitive former MP on rape charges

Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) arrested a former National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker wanted for rape on Wednesday, according to a resistance source in Sagaing Region.Myint Zaw Oo, who was elected to the Sagaing Region legislature in 2020 as the NLD candidate for Kanbalu Township, is accused of sexually assaulting female prisoners in 2023 while serving as a leader of Kanbalu’s local resistance administration.He had previously evaded arrest in January of this year, when two other officials facing related charges—prison officer Aung Zay Ya and police station chief Ye Yint—were apprehended.“We weren’t able to arrest him at that time because we didn’t have a warrant. By the time it was issued, he had gone into hiding,” said a member of a resistance defence team involved in making the arrest.According to the source, the fugitive former lawmaker, who is also known as Mae Khaung, was captured while fleeing from Kyunhla to Taze Township in Sagaing after anti-junta authorities in the region were notified of the arrest warrant.An NUG court remanded the other two suspects, Aung Zay Ya and Ye Yint, into custody on February 15. They are currently being investigated on charges of aiding and abetting Myint Zaw Oo, the source said.“They were charged as accomplices for bringing the prisoners out to be assaulted. Unlike Mae Khaung, they were arrested the same day the warrant was issued. They did not attempt to escape, likely because they thought they could clear their names, as they did not directly commit the crimes,” the defence team member explained.Myint Zaw Oo could face other, unspecified charges as he is being investigated for rape, the source added.In August 2023, the NUG announced the arrest of eight members of a People’s Security Team under its command for repeatedly raping a 22-year-old woman in their custody earlier that year.An investigation by Myanmar Now also revealed that NUG-led forces in Sagaing’s Chaung-U Township raped four female captives, including two 15-year-old girls, before killing them in August 2022.The victims were among seven prisoners, including five adolescents, who were summarily executed for allegedly stealing from abandoned homes and acting as junta informants. In May 2023, the NUG laid charges against Aung Min, an NLD party secretary for Yangon Region’s Twante Township, after he was accused of raping a five-year-old girl at a safe house for Myanmar dissidents in the Thai border town of Mae Sot.

Myanmar’s resistance government arrests fugitive former MP on rape charges

The suspect is accused of sexually assaulting female prisoners while serving as a local resistance leader in Sagaing’s Kanbalu Township

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