The Sittwe District Court will rule on January 24 in a case involving 13 people who have been on trial for more than nine months, facing charges under Section 17(1) and (2) of the Unlawful Associations Act, according to lawyer U Tun Hla.

After hearing testimony from 17 witnesses for the prosecution, lawyers for both sides have submitted their closing arguments, the lawyer said.

Twenty-one residents of Shin Let Wa village were arrested last April along with the owners of a house they were staying at in Kyauktaw town, Arakan State. Ten of them were subsequently released and the 13 others, including the couple who own the home, were charged under the Unlawful Associations Act.

Major Naing Aung Phyo from the Tatmadaw’s Light Infantry Battalion No. 375, based in Kyauktaw Township, filed the lawsuit against the group for allegedly having ties to the Arakan Army (AA) and providing food for the ethnic armed group.