As one Myanmar human rights lawyer told Amnesty International: “The public servant clauses are only used in political cases – and it is common. They are used to try to threaten people not to do it again. For just one protest, they [the activists] might face five charges. Then they think twice whether they want to protest or undertake their activities. The fear they can be arrested and put in prison for a longer time makes them think twice.”33 The use of charge sheets with multiple charges is one way in which the Myanmar authorities imprison activists for a long period of time. MULTIPLE CHARGES IN MULTIPLE TOWNSHIPS Another common pattern in politically motivated arrests and imprisonment under the Thein Sein administration is the tendency to charge activists several times in different townships, effectively lengthening their sentences. This tactic is particularly used against peaceful protesters, who are often charged under provisions of the Peaceful Assembly Act in each township they pass through during a demonstration. For example, Naw Ohn Hla, an ethnic Karen human rights defender, has been charged six times by six different townships in Yangon for a single, peaceful protest outside the Chinese embassy on 29 December 2014. She was among a group of some 100 people calling for an investigation into the excessive use of force by police during a protest at the Letpadaung copper mine the week before. The Dagon Township Court charged her with a range of offences under the Penal Code and with protesting without permission under Section 18 of the Peaceful Assembly Act, for which she was sentenced to a total of four years and four months’ imprisonment. However, because Naw Ohn Hla had passed through different townships during the protest, the authorities charged her with violating Section 18 in five other townships – Kyauktada, Pabedan, Latha, Ahlone and Lanmadaw. A single charge under Section 18 carries a maximum of six months. Courts in four of those townships sentenced her to four months in prison, increasing her sentence by 16 months in total. Taken together, Naw Ohn Hla has been sentenced to a total of five years and eight months in prison for the 29 December protest.34 Charging individuals for the same offence in multiple townships is contrary to provisions in Myanmar’s Code of Criminal Procedure, in particular, Section 182.35 Under this provision, when an offence is committed across differing areas, or where an offence is a continuing one, it may be tried by a court which has jurisdiction over one of the areas where an alleged offence took place. In the cases Amnesty International reviewed for this report, courts are disregarding this provision by interpreting it to mean that every court which has jurisdiction over the area where the offence took place is allowed to open a case. As mentioned above, in Myanmar prison sentences are usually served consecutively, unless the sentencing judge orders them to be served concurrently.36 The authorities’ use of multiple charges for the same offence is resulting in long, cumulative sentences. This tactic appears to be employed by the authorities with the sole aim of targeting human rights defenders, leaders of peaceful protests and political activists in order to increase their terms of imprisonment. Interview with human rights lawyer, October 2015. The Ahlone Township Court ruled that her four month prison sentence be served concurrently with other sentences. 35 Section 182 of the Code of Criminal Procedure states: “When it is uncertain in which of several local areas an offence was committed, or where an offence is committed partly in one local area and partly in another, where an offence is a continuing one, and continues to be committed in more Local areas than one, or where it consists of several acts done in different local areas, it may be inquired into or tried by a Court having jurisdiction over any of such local areas.” 36 See Amnesty International, Myanmar: Justice on trial (Index ASA 16/019/2003), 30 July 2003, p25. 33 34 NEW EXPRESSION MEETS OLD REPRESSION ENDING THE CYCLE OF POLITICAL ARRESTS AND IMPRISONMENT IN MYANMAR Amnesty International 18