Antécédents de l'affaire: Ko Htin Kyaw
Le 26 octobre 2016, le défenseur Ko Htin Kyaw a été arrêté et conduit à la prison Insein à Rangoun. Il est accusé d'avoir employé un vocabulaire offensant lorsqu'il a accusé l'armée d'avoir commis des exactions en toute impunité devant un tribunal de Rangoun.
Le 3 septembre 2014, plusieurs tribunaux de Rangoun avaient prononcé une condamnation à l'encontre du défenseur des droits humains Ko Htin Kyaw. Ko Htin Kyaw était détenu depuis le 5 mai 2014 et il était accusé dans 11 juridictions différentes de Rangoun. Au total, le défenseur avait été condamné à 10 ans de prison et de travaux forcés pour avoir troublé l'ordre public en vertu de la section 505(b) du Code pénal.
Ko Htin Kyaw est directeur du Movement for Democracy Current Force -MDCF (Mouvement pour la démocratie et la force actuelle), une organisation communautaire qui œuvre pour le développement et la démocratie en Birmanie.
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- 26 Octobre 2016 : Acharnement judiciaire continu contre Ko Htin Kyaw
- 8 Septembre 2014 : Human rights defender Mr Ko Htin Kyaw sentenced to ten years in prison with hard labour
- 12 Mai 2014 : Arrest of human rights defender Mr Ko Htin Kyaw and his colleagues
- 19 Septembre 2013 : Multiple charges filed against detained human rights defender Mr Ko Htin Kyaw
- 9 Août 2013 : Detention of Mr Ko Htin Kyaw on charges of insulting the state
Le 26 octobre 2016, le défenseur des droits humains M. Ko Htin Kyaw a été arrêté et conduit à la prison Insein à Rangoun. Il est accusé d'avoir employé un vocabulaire offensant lorsqu'il a accusé l'armée d'avoir commis des exactions en toute impunité devant un tribunal de Rangoun.
Ko Htin Kyaw est directeur du Movement for Democracy Current Force -MDCF (Mouvement pour la démocratie et la force actuelle), une organisation communautaire qui œuvre pour le développement et la démocratie en Birmanie. Le défenseur a organisé une série de manifestations en 2014 contre le gouvernement du président Thein Sein, la plupart pour défendre le droit à la terre à Rangoun. Le défenseur des droits humains a déjà été arrêté plusieurs fois pour avoir manifesté pacifiquement, notamment en août 2013. En février 2014, le groupe de travail de l'ONU sur les détentions arbitraires a indiqué que la détention de Ko Htin Kyaw en décembre 2013 était arbitraire.
Le 26 octobre 2016, Ko Htin Kyaw a été arrêté en vertu de la section 505(a) du Code pénal, qui interdit de faire, publier ou diffuser une déclaration, une rumeur ou un rapport qui pourrait entraver un membre du Tatmadaw d'exercer ses fonctions. La plainte a été portée par le Lieutenant Colonel du Commandement de la région de Rangoon. Ko Htin Kyan était accusé d'avoir employé un vocabulaire offensant lorsqu'il a accusé l'armée d'avoir commis des exactions en toute impunité devant un tribunal de Rangoun. Il est également accusé d'avoir dit que le gouvernement de la Ligue nationale pour la démocratie devait soutenir le public et exhorter l'armée à ne plus tyranniser le peuple. Ko Htin Kyaw est actuellement détenu dans la prison Insein à Rangoun. La prochaine audience aura lieu le 9 novembre 2016. S'il est reconnu coupable, il risque jusqu'à deux ans de prison et une amende.
Le 17 avril 2016, Ko Htin Kyaw a été libéré sur amnistie du président U Htin Kyaw. Le 3 septembre 2014, plusieurs tribunaux de Rangoun ont prononcé des condamnations contre Ko Htin Kyaw , qui était détenu depuis le 5 mai 2014, et accusé dans 11 juridictions de Rangoun. Au total, le défenseur avait été condamné à 10 ans de prison et de travaux forcés pour avoir troublé l'ordre public en vertu de la section 505(b) du Code pénal.
Front Line Defenders condamne l'acharnement judiciaire contre le défenseur des droits humains Ko Htin Kyaw et appelle les autorités birmanes à abandonner toutes les charges portées contre lui. Front Line Defenders est convaincue que l'acharnement judiciaire à son encontre a un lien avec son travail légitime et pacifique en faveur des droits humains en Birmanie.
On 3 September 2014, several courts in Rangoon handed down their sentences against human rights defender Mr Ko Htin Kyaw. Ko Htin Kyaw has been detained since 5 May 2014 and was facing charges in eleven different Rangoon jurisdictions. Cumulatively, the human rights defender has been sentenced to ten years' imprisonment with hard labour on charges of disturbing public order under Penal Code Section 505(b). The human rights defender has staged a series of protests in 2014 against President Thein Sein’s government, most of them related to land rights in Rangoon. The human rights defender has been repeatedly arrested in connection to peaceful protests, including in August 2013. In February 2014, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that the detention of Ko Htin Kyaw in December 2013 was arbitrary. In 2007, Ko Htin Kyaw was arrested while urging the then military government to rethink a fuel price hike at the time, and was subsequently sentenced to 12 years and six months’ imprisonment. However, the human rights defender was released early under an amnesty granted by the Thein Sein government, which took power in 2011. In 2013, the human rights defender was arrested again and was sentenced to six months in prison after leading a land rights demonstration in Rangoon’s Mayangone Township. Once again, he was granted a presidential amnesty after serving two-thirds of that sentence. Ko Htin Kyaw is currently being held at Rangoon’s Insein Prison. He is due to face three more trials at different courts in Rangoon, with the next one scheduled for a court in Shwe Pyi Thar Township on 11 September 2014. If found guilty, the human rights defender faces a minimum of one additional year in prison.
On 5 May 2014 at 11am, human rights defender Mr Ko Htin Kyaw was arrested by the police for distributing pamphlets in South Okkalapa Township in Yangon. On 9 May 2014, two of his colleagues were arrested when they attended the trial against the human rights defender. Ko Htin Kyaw is the director of the Movement for Democracy Current Force (MDCF), a community-based organisation working to promote development and democracy in Burma. The human rights defender has been repeatedly arrested for his peaceful protests, including in August and December 2013. In February 2014, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that the detention of Ko Htin Kyaw in December 2013 was arbitrary. On 5 May 2014, Ko Htin Kyaw was arrested and charged under article 505 (b) of the Penal Code for 'making statements that cause alarm or induce others to commit an offence against the state', while he was delivering a speech and distributing leaflets criticizing the Burmese government and calling on members of parliament to resign. He is being held in Insein Prison in Yangon and faces up to two years' imprisonment and/or a fine. Human rights defenders Messers Ko Tin Maung Kyi, deputy director of MDCF, and Ko Zaw Win (a member of MDCF) attended Ko Htin Kyaw's trial on 9 May. There, they too were arrested and charged under section 505 (b) of the Penal Code and are being held in Insein Prison. The human rights defenders were charged in connection with the distribution of pamphlets stating that "the civilians are the real masters of the country and the Government is only the servant of the country," and for reportedly shouting slogans criticizing the government's policy on land-grabbing.
According to the information received on 17 September 2013 from the Movement for Democracy Current Force (MDCF), human rights defender Mr Ko Htin Kyaw is currently facing multiple charges as a result of his human rights work. Since his arrest on 2 August 2013, the human rights defender has been held at Insein Prison in a separate cell. His health has deteriorated as a result of his detention. It is reported that Ko Htin Kyaw has been sent to different courts from Insein Prison nearly every day, since a number of charges have been filed against him. Currently, the human rights defender is facing ten charges for violating Section 18 of the Assembly and Procession Law, which prohibits peaceful assembly without official permission and carries a penalty of one year imprisonment. The ten counts of charges are from North Oakla Township Court, Dagon Township Court, Thingangyun Township Court, Kyauktada Township Court, Pa-Bel-Dann Township Court, Tar Myay Township Court, and Mingala Taung Nyunt Township Court. He is also facing two charges under Section 500 and 505 (b) of the Penal Code for “insulting the state” at North Oakla Township Court for holding a press conference against land grabbing. The penalty under Section 500 and 505 (b) is two years imprisonment each. Other charges are related to his campaign against illegal land seizures.
On 2 August 2013, human rights defender Mr Ko Htin Kyaw was arrested on charges of insulting the state after participating in a peaceful protest against illegal land seizures on 30 July 2013. Three other peaceful protesters, themselves victims of illegal land seizures, were arrested alongside him. Ko Htin Kyaw and the three protesters were summoned to the police station of North Oaklapa Township, Yangon, where they were charged under section 505(b) of the Penal Code for insulting the state. They were then immediately led to Court, where the arrest was endorsed and the four were led to Insein prison. They were not given any opportunity to contact a lawyer and were refused bail. If Ko Htin Kyaw is found guilty, he may be sentenced to up to 3 years imprisonment. The charges relate to a peaceful protest held on 30 July 2013 outside the North Oaklapa Court, in which Ko Htin Kyaw participated. Several participants in the protest – including those detained alongside the human right defender, Messrs U Lu Aye, Ma Sein Htwe and Ko Myint Naing – had been the victims of illegal evictions when their land was seized by a local man. The protesters wanted to peacefully express their frustration at the government which had not forced the man in question to return the land, despite an acknowledgement from the authorities of the land seizure's illegality and the existence of considerable evidence to support the claim. Reportedly, protesters speculated whether the man had connections to government figures.
