Even though there is a ceasefire between the military council and Arakan Army(AA), two local residents from Sittwe, the capital city of Rakhine State, weresentenced to two years in prison by a junta court for allegedlybeing associated with the AA.

Those imprisoned include U Ba Thein (57 years old) from Byai Phyu village and USao Lai (aka) Maung Maung Khin (50) from Thet Kay Pyin Muslim village.

The Sittwe township court, after convicting them as AA affiliates todayafternoon, sentenced both of them under section 505(a) in the sedition act,said a person close to them, who personally visited the
court.

“They were arrested as they were associated with the AA. Instead of chargingthem under  17(1), they were charged under section 505(a) of Myanmar’spenal code,” he added.

In June 2022, both were arrested by the junta forces during the period ofresurgent gunfighting in Rakhine State.

On 23 June last year, soon after the AA members detained one navy officer alongwith a soldier in Sittwe, the junta forces arrested 21 civilians, includingthese two individuals, as an act of retaliation.

Some of them were already released and many are still facing the trials withthe suspicion of being AA members or supporters.

According to Rakhine human rights protection and promotion group, more than 100Rakhine people are still under trials following their arrest as being relatedto the AA.