Military court sentences seven students to death for murdering retired officer

Khalid Umar Malik
06 Dec 2022, 14:46 GMT+10

According to a source close to the defendants, a military tribunal sentenced seven students to death on Wednesday after finding them guilty of murdering a retired army officer earlier this year.
According to the source, the condemned prisoners were all Dagon University students convicted of murder conspiracy and sentenced under Sections 34 and 302a of the Penal Code.
They are accused of shooting Saw Moe Win, a retired lieutenant colonel, in front of the Global Treasure Bank branch in South Dagon, which he managed, in April.

YANGON, Myanmar - According to a source close to the defendants, a military tribunal sentenced seven students to death on Wednesday after finding them guilty of murdering a retired army officer earlier this year.

According to the source, the condemned prisoners were all Dagon University students convicted of murder conspiracy and sentenced under Sections 34 and 302a of the Penal Code.

They are accused of shooting Saw Moe Win, a retired lieutenant colonel, in front of the Global Treasure Bank branch in South Dagon, which he managed, in April.

On April 19, a day after the killing, two urban guerrilla groups, the Anti-Fascist Armed Force and the Yangon Liberation Force, claimed responsibility.

Several days later, the accused-Thura Maung Maung, Hein Htet, Khant Zin Win, Thiha Htet Zaw, Zaw Lin Naing, Thet Paing Oo, and Khant Lin Maung Maung-were apprehended.

The Alliance of Students' Unions-Yangon condemned the death sentences in a statement issued on Thursday, claiming that the junta was using its "corrupt judiciary system to murder people."

"We object to and condemn the death sentences [issued by] courts that serve as pillars of the terrorist military regime," the group said, adding that it was keeping a close eye on the situation.