UN experts appeal for strong response in wake of executions by Myanmar junta

Geneva [Switzerland], July 25 (ANI): The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, and the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial summary or arbitrary executions, Morris Tidball-Binz, on Monday condemned the Myanmar junta’s execution of four individuals, as reported by the junta.

“We are outraged and devastated at the news of the junta’s execution of Myanmar patriots and champions of human rights and democracy. Our hearts goes out to their families, friends and loved ones and indeed all the people of Myanmar who are victims of the junta’s escalating atrocities,” the UN Experts said in a statement issued by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

“These individuals were tried, convicted, and sentenced by a military tribunal on 21 January without the right of appeal and reportedly without legal counsel, in violation of international human rights law,” Andrews and Tidball-Binz said. Since the military coup of February 1, 2021, military tribunals have sentenced a total of 117 individuals to death, including 41 in absentia.

“These depraved acts must be a turning point for the international community. What more must the junta do before the international community is willing to take strong action?” they said. “The widespread and systematic murders of protesters, indiscriminate attacks against entire villages, and now the execution of opposition leaders, demands an immediate and firm response by member states of the United Nations. The status quo of international inaction must be firmly rejected.”

“Having made a mockery of the Five Point Consensus, Min Aung Hlaing has now callously rejected the personal appeal of the Chair of ASEAN, Prime Minister Hun Sen, to spare the lives these individuals. ASEAN – and indeed all UN Member States–must take action that is commensurate with this outrage.

A New York-based human rights group has condemned the Myanmar military regime‘s execution of pro-democracy leaders and elected officials. Myanmar’s military junta today reported the execution of four men in the country’s first death sentences carried out in over three decades.

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the men put to death were Phyo Zeya Thaw, 41; Kyaw Min Yu, known as “Ko Jimmy,” 53; Hla Myo Aung; and Aung Thura Zaw, all of whom were convicted after closed trials that fell far short of international standards. A military tribunal sentenced Ko Jimmy and Phyo Zeya Thaw to death on January 21 under Myanmar’s overbroad Counterterrorism Law of 2014, the group said. Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw were convicted in April 2021 for allegedly killing a military informant.

“The Myanmar junta’s execution of four men was an act of utter cruelty,” said Elaine Pearson, acting Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “These executions, including of activist Ko Jimmy and opposition lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw, followed grossly unjust and politically motivated military trials. This horrific news was compounded by the junta’s failure to notify the men’s families, who learned about the executions through the junta’s media reports. (ANI)