The military junta in Myanmar has sentenced at least seven students to death, bringing to 139 the number of prisoners awaiting execution, according to the UN.
The sentences were announced Wednesday in the closed-door trial of at least seven students before a military court, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement.
"By using death sentences as a political tool to suppress opposition, the military reaffirms its contempt for the efforts of ASEAN and the international community as a whole to end the violence and create conditions for political dialogue," Turk denounced, referring to the efforts of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to restore peace in Myanmar.
According to local media, the Yangon students were arrested in April and accused of being involved in a bank shooting incident.
"The imposition of the death penalty against students is an act of revenge on the part of the military," denounced the students' union of the University of Dagon.
The UN also noted that it is investigating reports that four more young activists were sentenced to death on Thursday.
"The military continues to hold trials in secret courts in violation of the fundamental principles of fair trial," Turk said.
[BR][BR]According to him, trials in these secret courts often last a few minutes and often defendants do not have access to a lawyer or contact with their families.
The new death sentences were announced after the execution in July of four people, including former MP Pio Zeya Tau and pro-democracy activist Kiau Min Yu. These were the first executions in Myanmar in thirty years.
The country has been plunged into chaos since the military overthrew the government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.
According to a local organization, nearly 2,280 civilians have been killed and 11,637 have been imprisoned as part of the military's campaign to eliminate all forms of opposition.
Source: Cyprus Times
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