Ousted Arakan State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu and former Arakan State Municipal Affairs Minister U Min Aung, who are accused of violating election law, will be arraigned on March 3 to decide whether to prosecute them, according to sources close to the court.

The two ex-ministers appeared before a special court in Sittwe Prison on Wednesday and a prosecution witness was examined during the hearing, said a source close to the court.

“A prosecution witness was questioned at today’s court hearing, and two prosecution witnesses and a plaintiff have been examined so far. The next hearing has been scheduled for March 3 and we have to make an appeal on whether the two ministers should be prosecuted or not,” the source added.

U Nyi Pu has been charged under Section 130(a) of the Penal Code and U Min Aung has been charged under Sections 130(a) and 109 of the Penal Code, according to their lawyer.

“U Nyi Pu has been accused of breaching the election law and U Min Aung has been accused of abetting him,” U Win Aung, a lawyer from the Thazin Legal Aid Group, told DMG last month.

For both defendants, the election law charges are the latest in a series of legal proceedings brought against them since the military’s coup on February 1, 2021.

Charged under Myanmar’s Anti-Corruption Law, five former Arakan State ministers including U Nyi Pu were sentenced to lengthy prison terms on January 19 of this year. The court sentenced the ex-chief minister, former economic minister U Kyaw Aye Thein, and former Minister for Electricity and Transport U Aung Kyaw Zan to nine years in prison with hard labour.

In addition, former Minister for Municipal Affairs U Min Aung was sentenced to seven years in prison with hard labour, and former Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Mining U Kyaw Lwin received three years in prison with hard labour.

U Nyi Pu had previously been sentenced to two years in prison with hard labour under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code, which covers incitement, on October 8.