Court In Myanmar Sentences Rakhine Leader To 20 Years In Jail For High Treason - Reports

A court in Myanmar sentenced on Tuesday Aye Maung, the former chairman of the opposition Arakan National Party, which represents the interests of Rakhine people, to 20 years in jail for high treason, local media reported

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th March, 2019) A court in Myanmar sentenced on Tuesday Aye Maung, the former chairman of the opposition Arakan National Party, which represents the interests of Rakhine people, to 20 years in jail for high treason, local media reported.

Aye Maung and writer Wai Hin Aung, who also received a 20-year sentence on Tuesday, were arrested in January 2018 over their speeches at a public event. Aye Maung reportedly accused the Myanmar ruling party of treating Rakhine's residents like "slaves."

Wai Hin Aung's lawyer, Daw Aye Nu Sein, told the Frontier Myanmar newspaper that she viewed the verdict as unfair and disproportionate to the alleged offenses.

"They were just talking about current affairs in line with freedom of expression.

It [the verdict and sentence] doesn't make sense," U Tun Aung Kyaw, the general secretary of the Arakan National Party, said, as quoted by the newspaper.

He added that the party would hold a meeting to discuss this case.

The sentences are likely to escalate tensions in the Rakhine state, where clashes between state forces and the Arakan Army Buddhist rebel group have continued since January, the newspaper said.

The Arakan Army, which seeks greater autonomy for Rakhine, attacked a police station in the state on March 10, killing nine officers. In a similar attack in early January, 13 policemen were killed.