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| Mizzima News in Burmese |
Mahmed
Nul, 23, accused of leading deadly assault on police stations in Rakhine state
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.
Rohingya Activist
twitted on 13Feb2017 as: Innocent Rohingya has been sentenced for death penalty
without any proper justification, just ordered by #Sittwe judge court
@matthewfsmith