Brutal Comeback
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Myanmar’s military junta will carry out its first executions in decades against two prominent pro-democracy figures after authorities upheld the death sentence of two individuals accused of terrorism, CNN reported.
The military junta said that veteran democracy activist Ko Jimmy and former National League of Democracy lawmaker Phyo Zayar Thaw have been sentenced to death for involvement in terrorist acts such as bombings and the killing of informants.
It’s unclear if the two men denied the charges.
Amnesty International described the verdicts as “shocking” but noted that authorities have been increasing the number of death sentences since the junta overthrew the democratically-elected government in February 2021.
The number of known death sentences has gone from at least one in 2020 to more than 86 in 2021. No one has been executed in Myanmar since 1988.
Following the junta’s decision, the United Nations and other groups condemned the ruling as a “blatant violation of the right to life, liberty and security of person.” They urged authorities to drop the charges against the accused and urged the international community to increase intervention efforts.
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