Crackdown at Letpadan: Excessive Use of Force and Violations of the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Expression in Letpadan, Bago Region, Myanmar

By Fortify Rights and Harvard Law School's International Human Rights Clinic • October 10, 2015

On March 10, 2015, following a weeklong standoff in the town of Letpadan in Myanmar’sBago Region, police officers violently cracked down on a group of approximately 200 protesters demonstrating against the recently passed National Education Law. Several days prior to the crackdown, the police imposed a blockade on the protesters and prevented them from continuing their march to Yangon. On March 10, after tension escalated during the morning, police officers charged into the group with batons drawn and severely beat unarmed protesters and bystanders. At the time of writing, the Government of Myanmar has taken no known disciplinary or criminal action against police officers involved in the excessive use of force at Letpadan.

The police arrested 127 protesters, journalists, and bystanders in Letpadan on March 10 and physically and verbally abused individuals in police custody. At the time of writing, 77 men and women arrested in Letpadan face charges that carry sentences of up to nine years and six months imprisonment. Fifty of those arrested remain behind bars. Some student leaders face multiple counts of the same alleged violation under a law regulating assemblies.

Download the full report in English here.

Tags: ASEAN, Crime Against Humanity, Fortify Rights International, Human Rights, Human Rights Violations, International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School, Letpadaung Students crack down

This post is in: ASEAN, Business and Human Rights, Crimes Against Humanity, Human Rights, Law, Military Regime, Political Prisoners

Crackdown at Letpadan: Excessive Use of Force and Violations of the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Expression in Letpadan, Bago Region, Myanmar

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