Myanmar to witness judicial executions for first time in decades; UN expresses concern

Myanmar has been shadowed by violence since the military junta overthrew the democratically elected government in February last year. Now, after nearly 14,000 detentions and nearly 2,000 reported to be killed, the country would witness its first judicial execution. On Saturday, the Junta controlled judiciary rejected the death sentence appeal of two men but stopped short of assigning a particular date for executions.

"It's confirmed that Phyo Zayar Thaw and [Ko] Jimmy would be on the execution list," junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun told CNN, without giving a date. Both, Jimmy who is a veteran democracy activist and Thaw who is a former National League of Democracy lawmaker, were awarded the death penalty back in Janaiuryn after they were convicted of being involved in “terrorist acts such as explosion attacks, the killing of civilians as informants,” according to Myanmar’s Office of the Commander-in-chief of Defense Services. 

The news has jolted the international community, including the United Nations and various other human rights organisations. On Friday, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Stéphane Dujarric said that he was “deeply troubled" by the decision, calling it a "blatant violation to the right to life, liberty and security of person. Furthermore, he reiterated the Secretary-General's calls for “the respect of people's rights to freedom of opinion and expression and also to drop all charges against those arrested on charges related to the exercise of their fundamental freedoms and rights.” Amnesty International, meanwhile, asserted that since taking over the junta has "alarmingly" increased the number of death sentence awarded to residents. 

Dujarric said, “This is a blatant violation to the right to the life, liberty and security of person, as per Article 3 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Secretary-General considers that the death penalty cannot be reconciled with full respect for the right to life."

'Annihilate opposition'

Since the Tatmadaw seized power in the country on February 1, protests have erupted across the Southeast Asian country leading to the deaths of over 1,800 people, and the arrest of nearly 14,000 along with many who have fled the country in order to avoid detentions and torture. In March, military leader Min Aung Hlaing vowed to  "annihilate" groups seeking to overthrow his government.

(Image: AP/Pixabay )