Myanmar’s military regime has sentenced more than 30 members of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) to significant prison time, including at least two life sentences, during the two-plus years since the coup in February 2021.
A court inside Insein Prison sentenced Ko Kaung Sett Paing, 20, a member of Yangon’s North Okkalapa students’ union, to life imprisonment on March 22.
The verdict was delivered nearly four months after Ko Kaung Set Paing was arrested on December 1, 2022.
“The imprisonment of students is due to the military dictatorship system that has been firmly built over the ages with the support of the junta and the military bureaucracy. Therefore, only if the military dictatorship can be eradicated will we be freed from this oppression,” an ABFSU official told DMG.
A military court also sentenced Ko Hein Htet aka Ko Po Po, a student activist of the North Okkalapa students’ union, to life in prison on February 9. According to the ABFSU, he was charged under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code and Section 50(j) of the Counter-Terrorism Law.
As of March 24, there had been approximately 50 ABFSU member students who were arrested after the military seized power on February 1, 2021, some of whom were subsequently released. There are currently up to 30 ABFSU members who have been sentenced to prison time and 10 ABFSU members have been sentenced to death.
The Arakan Students’ Union condemned the regime’s lengthy sentences for students protesting peacefully for democracy.
“We condemn the fact that the military regime arrested the student union members for standing on the right side with the public, and sentenced them to life imprisonment using various articles,” said Ko Oo Than Naing, an information officer for the Arakan Students’ Union.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a total of 3,158 people died at the hands of the Myanmar military from the beginning of the coup to March 22 of this year, and 20,822 civilians were detained.
Despite and perhaps due to the heavy human toll, widespread and vocal opposition to the military regime persists, including an armed resistance movement across much of the country.
