{"id":2693,"date":"2017-10-11T09:58:00","date_gmt":"2017-10-11T09:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/?p=2693"},"modified":"2020-11-05T18:43:21","modified_gmt":"2020-11-05T11:43:21","slug":"mya-inv-2017-10-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mya-inv-2017-10-11\/","title":{"rendered":"Myanmar: Free Khaing Myo Htun, Uphold Right to Freedom of Expression"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Verdict expected tomorrow in human rights defender case<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the News Release in Burmese<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

(YANGON, October 11, 2017)\u2014Myanmar authorities should drop charges against ethnic-Rakhine human rights defender Khaing Myo Htun and immediately and unconditionally free him, said Fortify Rights today. The Sittwe Township Court in Rakhine State will deliver its verdict on the charges tomorrow, October 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKhaing Myo Htun should be at home with his family, not cooped up in a jail cell for defending human rights,\u201d said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Fortify Rights. \u201cThe authorities should immediately release Khaing Myo Htun.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Sittwe police arrested Khaing Myo Htun, a 35-year old human rights defender with years of experience working with civil society organizations, on July 25, 2016. Lieutenant-Colonel Tin Naing Tun from the Myanmar Army\u2019s Sittwe-based Regional Operations Command had filed sedition and incitement charges against Khaing Myo Htun under Sections 505(b) and (c) of the Myanmar Penal Code. The charges relate to an April 24, 2016 statement published by the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP)\u2014the political wing of the Arakan Liberation Army\u2014claiming the Myanmar Army used forced labor and committed other violations against civilians in Rakhine State in early 2016. At the time of the statement, Khaing Myo Htun was the ALP\u2019s deputy information officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On September 14, 2017, two defense witnesses from Rathedaung Township, Rakhine State testified in Khaing Myo Htun\u2019s trial that in 2016 the Myanmar Army forced them to carry supplies and weapons during clashes with the Arakan Army\u2014an ethnic armed group engaged in armed conflict with the Myanmar Army since April 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortify Rights and its partners documented seven cases of forced labor<\/a> by the Myanmar Army in December 2015 and January 2016. The Myanmar Army forced civilians to dig graves and transport supplies under the threat of death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Myanmar authorities have detained Khaing Myo Htun since July 2016. The court repeatedly rejected his bail applications despite numerous delays in his trial due to the absence of the plaintiff, prosecution witnesses, and the judge<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKhaing Myo Htun is now 15 months into a detention that was arbitrary from day one,\u201d said Matthew Smith. \u201cMyanmar\u2019s military leaders have learned nothing from the past if they think they can silence human rights defenders by locking them up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sections 505(b) and (c) of the Myanmar Penal Code prohibit any statement, rumor or report \u201cwith intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public\u2026\u201d and \u201cwith intent to incite, or which is likely to incite, any class or community of persons to commit any offence against any other class or community\u2026,\u201d respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On August 26, 2016, three United Nations Special Rapporteurs and the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued a joint communication to the Government of Myanmar on Khaing Myo Htun\u2019s case. The Government of Myanmar replied on October 6, 2016, stating: \u201c[I]t does not amount to an offence\u2026when the person making, publishing or circulating any such statement, rumour or report has reasonable grounds for believing that such statement, rumour or report is true.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe government\u2019s own interpretation of the law demonstrates the baselessness of the charges against Khaing Myo Htun,\u201d said Matthew Smith. \u201cMyanmar needs to support and protect the critical work of its human rights defenders and peace-builders, especially in Rakhine State.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Verdict expected tomorrow in human rights defender case","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"publications":[8],"strategy":[37],"country":[48],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMyanmar: Free Khaing Myo Htun, Uphold Right to Freedom of Expression - Fortify Rights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mya-inv-2017-10-11\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Myanmar: Free Khaing Myo Htun, Uphold Right to Freedom of Expression - Fortify Rights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Verdict expected tomorrow in human rights defender case\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mya-inv-2017-10-11\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fortify Rights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-10-11T09:58:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-11-05T11:43:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/news-release-1610.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1401\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"876\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Fortifyrights\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Fortifyrights\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mya-inv-2017-10-11\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mya-inv-2017-10-11\/\",\"name\":\"Myanmar: Free Khaing Myo Htun, Uphold Right to Freedom of Expression - Fortify Rights\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mya-inv-2017-10-11\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mya-inv-2017-10-11\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/news-release-1610.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-10-11T09:58:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-11-05T11:43:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/#\/schema\/person\/1bcf4ae0a0fa24a645f72f28742f97da\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mya-inv-2017-10-11\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mya-inv-2017-10-11\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mya-inv-2017-10-11\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/news-release-1610.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/news-release-1610.jpg\",\"width\":1401,\"height\":876},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mya-inv-2017-10-11\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Myanmar: Free Khaing Myo Htun, Uphold Right to Freedom of Expression\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/\",\"name\":\"Fortify Rights\",\"description\":\"We ensure human rights for all.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/#\/schema\/person\/1bcf4ae0a0fa24a645f72f28742f97da\",\"name\":\"Fortifyrights\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/author\/fortifyrights\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Myanmar: Free Khaing Myo Htun, Uphold Right to Freedom of Expression - Fortify Rights","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mya-inv-2017-10-11\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Myanmar: Free Khaing Myo Htun, Uphold Right to Freedom of Expression - Fortify Rights","og_description":"Verdict expected tomorrow in human rights defender case","og_url":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mya-inv-2017-10-11\/","og_site_name":"Fortify Rights","article_published_time":"2017-10-11T09:58:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-11-05T11:43:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1401,"height":876,"url":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/news-release-1610.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Fortifyrights","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Fortifyrights","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mya-inv-2017-10-11\/","url":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mya-inv-2017-10-11\/","name":"Myanmar: Free Khaing Myo Htun, Uphold Right to Freedom of Expression - Fortify Rights","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mya-inv-2017-10-11\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mya-inv-2017-10-11\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/news-release-1610.jpg","datePublished":"2017-10-11T09:58:00+00:00","dateModified":"2020-11-05T11:43:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/#\/schema\/person\/1bcf4ae0a0fa24a645f72f28742f97da"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mya-inv-2017-10-11\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mya-inv-2017-10-11\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mya-inv-2017-10-11\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/news-release-1610.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/news-release-1610.jpg","width":1401,"height":876},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mya-inv-2017-10-11\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Myanmar: Free Khaing Myo Htun, Uphold Right to Freedom of Expression"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/","name":"Fortify Rights","description":"We ensure human rights for all.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/#\/schema\/person\/1bcf4ae0a0fa24a645f72f28742f97da","name":"Fortifyrights","url":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/author\/fortifyrights\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2693"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2693\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2693"},{"taxonomy":"publications","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publications?post=2693"},{"taxonomy":"strategy","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/strategy?post=2693"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=2693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}