The plaintiff in a murder case involving 15 supporters of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has asked a court in Sagaing Region’s Kantbalu Township to drop the charges.
Hla May, the wife of 38-year-old Myo Win Soe, who was killed during last year’s election campaign, made the request in a letter submitted to the Kantbalu District law office last month, according to sources familiar with the case.
Myo Win Soe, who was a supporter of the National League for Democracy (NLD), died last October during a confrontation with a mob of USDP supporters in the village of Karbo. Fifteen people were arrested in connection with the incident.
The district court agreed to try the suspects, but biweekly hearings related to the case have been put on hold since the military seized power on February 1, a local source confirmed.
The letter to the district law office states that Hla May no longer believed that the suspects were responsible for her husband’s death, but that he “passed away due to accidental injuries during a political party affair.”
It adds that the defendants, who have been held at the Kantbalu police station since their arrest, “have been facing trial for about seven months, and I no longer feel the need for the case to go forward.”
The letter was sealed and included Hla May’s thumbprint next to her name. It also states that she was not influenced by any individual’s persuasion or threats.
When Myanmar Now tried to reach out to Hla May, she responded through another village resident that she did not wish to comment on the case.
Karbo’s junta-appointed village administrator, Myint Maung Cho, told Myanmar Now that he assisted the plaintiff in accordance with her wishes.
“She reached out because that’s what she wanted. And as an administrator, I sent the letter to the court because she was afraid to go by herself. That’s it. I don’t really know what happened before, but now it’s in the court’s hands,” he said.
Experienced lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said that it was almost impossible to close a murder case legally even if the charges were withdrawn by the plaintiff.
“Currently, we don’t know what the legal officer is going to do. But this is a situation that defies common sense. Who just closes a murder case?” he said.
Nay Zin Lat, the NLD candidate who won the seat for Kantbalu Township constituency 2 in last year’s election, and who is now in hiding, said he was concerned that the move would serve to reinforce the culture of instilling fear to gain votes.
“It seems the people in power are going to start demanding votes with threats. And they could take away the people’s right to freely vote for whoever they want,” he said.
Although it has been a month since the plaintiff made her request to withdraw the case, the court’s decision remains unclear.
Myanmar Now has not been able to get any comment from the families of the arrested USDP supporters.
In addition to Myo Win Soe’s death, the Karbo riot resulted in the destruction of a Covid-19 prevention toll gate, two homes, and seven motorbikes.
