A Myanmar court has sentenced a former rights lawyer and political prisoner to two years in prison with hard labour on defamation-related charges for shoe-throwing incidents, RFA reported.

Pyigyitagon Township Court in Mandalay handed the maximum punishment to Zaw Win, who was charged under Section 505(b) of the country’s Penal Code in March 2018 for committing an offense against the state, harming the reputation of the state, and disrupting public tranquillity.

Kyaw Soe, the township’s deputy general administrator, filed the case against Zaw Win after he twice threw shoes at a sign outside the courthouse after a judge issued a decision with which he did not agree, citing charges under four sections of the Penal Code.

Zaw Win also threw his shoe at the judge during his various hearings at the court, the report said.