Photo:Lwin Cho Myint
Mizzima
A Myanmar court under the military regime has sentenced Lwin Cho Myint, the former General Secretary of the Student Union of the Sagaing Technological University, located in Sagaing Township, Sagaing Region, to 17 years in prison, as reported by a family member.
On 24 April, a junta-controlled court in Mandalay imprisoned Lwin Cho Myint, a 27-year-old final year Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) student majoring in electrical engineering, with a sentence of 10 years under Section 51 (c) and seven years under Section 52 (d) of the Counter-Terrorism Law, totaling 17 years. Currently, she is being held at Mandalay Obo Prison.
She was apprehended at her residence in Seinkone Ward, Sagaing Town, Sagaing Township, by junta forces on 23 May, 2023.
Approximately one month following her arrest, her mother, Cho Nwe San, was also taken into custody, according to a family member.
A family member how we can consider such an injustice as justice.
“They have suppressed us to the point where we dare not even visit the prison. They have even arrested lawyers. Her mother was detained,” said the family member.
Cho Nwe San, aged 56, has been detained at Mandalay Obo Prison since then, although the specific charges against her remain unknown.
The act of arresting and unjustly imprisoning the daughter as well as apprehending the mother is an inhumane act, an official of the Women’s Organization of Political Prisoners (WOPP) said.
“The daughter and the mother were arrested. In that situation, arresting their lawyer is very reprehensible. These incidents, making it difficult to make a prison visit, are happening in every prison after the coup,” said Zue Zue May Yoon, the founder of WOPP.
Lwin Cho Myint served as the general secretary of Sagaing Technological University Students Union. She actively participated in the nonviolent CDM movement after the military coup.
She has two siblings, her brother being the President of the Sagaing Technological University Students Union.
From the military coup to 25 April, 26,565 people were arrested in relation to the coup. Among them, 5,477 were women, 3,939 of whom are still detained, according to the data collected by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
