“The decision to execute activists announced by the government shows how the military seeks to use all the apparatus of the State to suppress those who oppose the attempt to return Myanmar to a military dictatorship. Ko Jimmy is a leader of the Generation 88 activist group that stood up against the former dictator Ne Win’s regime. Phyo Zeya Thaw is a former member of parliament of the National League for Democracy, the party of imprisoned leader Aung San Suu Kyi, ousted in a military coup. They include former lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw and veteran activist Kyaw Min Yu, known as Ko Jimmy, who was sentenced to death by a military court in January for treason and terrorism. Last week, the government announced it would execute four people whose appeals were rejected after closed-door hearings. Since then, at least 114 people have been sentenced to death, of which 41 are absent, according to experts. “These death sentences, handed down by an illegal court against an illegal soldier, are a vile attempt to instill fear in the people of Myanmar.”Īccording to experts, the military took power in Myanmar in February 2021.

Special rapporteurs Thomas Andrews and Morris Tidball-Binz, are concerned that the development could signal the start of a series of executions in a country that has not implemented the death penalty in more than 30 years.