Myanmar junta executes leading democracy activists

Veteran democracy activist Kyaw Min Yu, better known as Ko Jimmy, and former National League for Democracy lawmaker Phyo Zayar Thaw were executed, along with Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw, the Global New Light of Myanmar reported, without giving a date.Their deaths mark the first judicial executions in the country in decades, and human rights groups fear more will follow. According to Human Rights Watch, 114 people have been sentenced to death in Myanmar since the Rights groups say these secretive military tribunals deny the chance to a fair trial and are designed for speedy — and almost certain — convictions, regardless of evidence. United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said in a statement Monday he was “outraged and devastated” by the executions. “My heart goes out to their families, friends and loved ones and indeed all the people of Myanmar who are victims of the junta’s escalating atrocities,” he said. “These individuals were tried, convicted, and sentenced by a military tribunal without the right of appeal and reportedly without legal counsel, in violation of international human rights law.”Acting Asia director for Human Rights Watch, Elaine Pearson, called the executions “an act of utter cruelty,” that “followed grossly unjust and politically motivated military trials.” “This horrific news was compounded by the junta’s failure to notify the men’s families, who learned about the executions through the junta’s media reports,” Pearson said in a statement Monday.A spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said earlier the UN was “deeply troubled” by the decision to execute the men, calling it a “blatant violation of the right to life, liberty and security of person,” referring to an article in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.Amnesty International said it has recorded an “alarming” increase in the number of death sentences in the country since the takeover that it said were designed to “sow fear.”According to local media, Ko Jimmy was detained in October 2021, accused of organizing guerrilla attacks on junta targets and charged with treason and terrorism offenses. He was also wanted by the regime for allegedly inciting unrest because of social media posts criticizing the coup. Since seizing power, the military junta led by Min Aung Hlaing has embarked on a bloody crackdown against any opposition to its rule. 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campaign. “The junta’s barbarity and callous disregard for human life aims to chill the anti-coup protest movement,” Human Rights Watch’s Pearson said Monday. “European Union member states, the United States, and other governments should show the junta that there will be a reckoning for its crimes.”