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Ko Nay Thway, a Myanmar citizen, has been sentenced to seven years of hard labor for publicly criticizing the military government’s upcoming parliamentary elections, according to state-run media reports released Wednesday.
The conviction stems from a now-deleted social media post on his account “Lashio Baegyi,” in which Nay Thway shared footage of a violent car robbery and questioned the junta’s push for public participation in December’s elections without first addressing urban safety. His remarks were seen as a direct challenge to election laws introduced in July by junta chief Min Aung Hlaing.
Under the new legislation, harsh penalties are imposed for actions deemed to disrupt the electoral process, including long prison terms and, in extreme cases, capital punishment. Nay Thway is the first person to be sentenced under these provisions.
Critics argue the law mirrors past authoritarian tactics and is designed to entrench military control under the guise of democratic reform. Activists, including Mi Kun Chan Non of the Mon ethnic minority, have labeled the upcoming elections as illegitimate and exclusionary.
Myanmar has remained in turmoil since the February 2021 coup, which ended a brief democratic period. International human rights organizations continue to denounce widespread repression, and most Western governments do not recognize the junta as Myanmar’s legitimate authority. It remains unclear whether Nay Thway will appeal his sentence.
Excerpts from jurist.org article by Morgan Polen | U. Pittsburgh School of Law, US
