14 February 2017•Update: 14 February 2017
By Kyaw Ye Lynn
YANGON, Myanmar
A Rohingya man accused of leading one of three deadly attacks on police stations in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state has been given the death sentence, officials said Tuesday.
Tin Maung Swe, spokesman for the Rakhine regional government, told Anadolu Agency a district court in the state capital Sittwe on Friday (Feb. 10) handed down the death sentence to a Rohingya man arrested soon after an attack on the Kotankauk border post near the country’s western frontier with Bangladesh in October.
“A 23-year-old man named Mahmed Nul [AKA Mahmed Nu or Aula] was given the death sentence for intentional murder as he was found guilty of leading the attack,” he said by telephone on Tuesday.
He added Mahmed Nul is also facing at least three other charges under the country’s penal code plus the Unlawful Association Act.
Thirteen other people arrested along with Mahmed Nul also appeared in court but have yet to be sentenced, Tin Maung Swe said.
Since a gang killed nine police officers in Maugndaw -- predominately populated by members of the stateless Rohingya minority group in the northern part of Rakhine state -- Myanmar security forces have detained more than 600 people for alleged involvement.
During the military operations in the area, soldiers and police have been accused of committing human rights violations including gang rape, killings, beatings and disappearances.
Rights violations
A recent report commissioned by UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein detailed how soldiers and border police committed violations against Rohingya civilians, which could amount to crimes against humanity.
The Myanmar government said an investigation commission led by Vice President Myint Swe is probing the allegations and vowed to take legal action against any perpetrators if there is clear evidence of abuses.
However, Hussein said the commission was “not a credible option” to investigate anti-Rohingya atrocities.
Myanmar’s powerful military and military-dominated Ministry of Home Affairs have reportedly formed their own investigation units to probe the allegations against the soldiers and police.
Since the military coup of 1988, the junta’s courts have passed the death penalty for all crimes, although it is primarily used to intimidate opposition activists.
However, the death penalty is rarely carried out in Myanmar, with sentences normally commuted to life imprisonment.
