Myanmar: Serious Risk of Further Human Rights Abuses at Controversial Letpadaung Mine

Two years after police used incendiary weapons against monks and villagers protesting a mining project in central Myanmar, no one has been held accountable, Amnesty International said ahead of the anniversary of the attack. […]

Burma: Judicial Harassment and Arbitrary Detention of Ms. Phyu Hnin Htwe

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Burma […]

Arrest of Student on Trumped-up Charges is a Damning Indictment of Justice in Burma

On 13 September 2014, police arrested female human rights defender (HRD) Phyu Hnin Htwe at her house in Patheingyi Township, Mandalay Region, and sent her to Monywa Prison, Sagaing Region, where she is currently being detained. Phyu Hnin Htwe is a second-year Burmese student at Mandalay’s Yadanabon University, and is also an activist and member of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU). She has helped farmers who have been forcibly evicted to make way for the infamous Chinese-backed Letpadaung copper mine in Sagaing Region, going to the Letpadaung area at weekends and supporting displaced farmers.
Her arrest ostensibly relates to a murky incident that took place on 18 May of this year. Two Chinese workers – employees of Wanbao company, the main company involved in the joint venture – were seized from the Letpadaung area, taken to a monastery in Hsete Village, and held there for about 30 hours. The incident followed efforts by Wanbao employees to restart measuring plots of land for which compensation had not even been provided, in spite of villagers’ protests, thereby provoking their anger.

As a result, Phyu Hnin Htwe and six villagers were charged with kidnapping and abduction under Articles 364 and 368 of the Penal Code, which prescribe sentences of up to ten years’ imprisonment. While the case against five of the villagers was quickly dropped, charges still remain against Phyu Hnin Htwe and local villager Win Kyaw, neither of whom attended court in May […]

Myanmar Villagers Demand Release of Student Activist

Hundreds of villagers in northern Myanmar, also known as Burma, have staged protests to demand the release of a student activist who was involved in the brief abduction of two workers at a Chinese copper mine this year.

A monk in the Letpadaung area tells VOA that 500 to 600 locals staged peaceful protests in several villages Monday seeking the release of Phyu Hnin Htway, who was detained Saturday […]

Arrest of Human Rights Defender, Mr Tin Htut Pai

On 3 December 2013, Mr Tin Htut Pai was arrested for his involvement in commemorating the one-year anniversary of the protests against the Letpadaung mining project. Tin Htut Pai is currently detained at Insein prison, where he is able to meet his family members but has not been permitted to see his lawyer […]

Update: Imprisoned Human Rights Defender, Naw Ohn Hla, Faces Additional Charges Related to Campaigns for Land Rights

Human rights defender, Ms Naw Ohn Hla, is facing thirty-three additional charges in relation to her work protecting land rights in Burma. In August 2013, she was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for disturbing public tranquillity. Naw Ohn Hla is being held in Mandalay prison […]

Using the Law as a Weapon to Silence Legitimate Protestors

On 13 August, Naw Ohn Hla, a leading woman activist from Rangoon, gathered in Monywa, Sagaing Region, with over 50 local villagers to call for the suspension of the controversial Chinese-backed Letpadaung Copper Mine and to amend the 2008 Constitution. After a tense stand-off, police moved in to arrest Naw Ohn Hla and 9 other protest leaders, forcefully pulling them into the back of police trucks. Naw Ohn Hla was seized so violently that her clothing was partially pulled off. She and the other activists are currently being held in Monywa No. 1 police station.

On 29 August, Naw Ohn Hla was found guilty of disturbing public tranquility under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code and sentenced to two years in prison with hard labor. Her lawyer said she boycotted the hearing because “she does not have faith in the judicial system.” Naw Ohn Hla remains to be tried under Section 18 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law for allegedly holding a protest without permission. She did in fact request official permission prior to the protest, but was refused […]

The Women’s Initiative Network for Peace (WIN-Peace) Calls for the Immediate Release of Naw Ohn Hla and Other Women Activists at Monywa, and for an End to Judicial Harassment of Women Activists around Myanmar

The Women’s Initiative Network for Peace (WIN-Peace) calls for the immediate release of Naw Ohn Hla and nine other women who were arrested following a peaceful protest against the Letpadaung copper mine in Monywa, Sagaing Region, on 13 August 2013. WIN-Peace also calls for an end to the judicial harassment […]

The Women’s League of Burma Condemns the Violent Handling and Arrest of Peaceful Women Activists in Monywa

The Women’s League of Burma strongly condemns the violent handling and arrest of Naw Ohn Hla and nine other women who were staging a peaceful protest against the Letpadaung copper mine in Monywa on August 13 […]

Myanmar: human rights defenders sentenced for protesting against the Letpadaung Copper Mine

In 2010 7,800 acres (3,156 hectares) of farmland had been confiscated from local farmers for the Letpadaung Copper Mine project. Protests began in 2011 when farmers said that their fields were being contaminated by waste from the mine. On the 8th of July three human rights defenders, arrested while taking part in the protests, were sentenced to eleven years and six months and two years and six months respectively in prison […]