A Chance to Fix in Time: Analysis of Freedom of Expression in Four Years Under the Current Government
after four months. Ko Pawlu gave a pair of broken scales to the judge U Than Tun as
a symbol of the broken judicial system before leaving the court. As a result, deputy
judge Daw Tin Nwe imposed another three-month sentence on him under Section
228 of the Penal Code.
3.1.2 Eight Labour Activists Charged under
Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law
A gigantic group of 2,000 workers marched in a protest in Pyigyidagun,
Chanmyathazi and Maha Aung Myay townships of Mandalay Region demanding to
include their desire and opinion in the second amendment of the Settlement of
Labour Dispute Law on February 17, 2019. Eight labour leaders of Confederation of
Trade Unions of Myanmar (CTUM) and Myanmar Industries Craft and Services
Trade Unions Federation (MICF-TUsF) were charged on 24 February under Section
20 of Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law for organising march protest,
assembly and delivering speech without the permission of district police force. The
court ordered the seven activists to pay ten thousand Kyat (10,000 MMK) as per the
legal provisions of Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law although one
activist was released on February 21, 2020, after the trial lasted for nearly one year.
3.1.3 Prosecution over Using the Word “Karen Martyr”
Ethnic Karen people including Karen activist Naw Ohn Hla organised a
commemoration at the front of Mahabandula park in Yangon on August 12, 2019 to
mark the day of Karen national leader Saw Ba U Gyi’s death. Police officer Myo Thant
of Kyauktada police station’s chief Myo Thet filed lawsuits against Naw Ohn Hla,
Saw Albert Cho and Sa Thein Min Zaw under Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful
Procession Law for using the term “Karen Martyr’s Day”. The trio was sentenced to
15 days in prison on October 15, 2019.
3.1.4 Protester Arrested and Charged Despite Legal Notification
U Tin Maung Kyi, a member of central committee of Myanmar Democracy Current
Forces (MDCF) was violently arrested by the police while he was protesting alone in
front of Mahabandula park demanding
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International Criminal Court (ICC)’s
Chapter (3): Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession