Five persons accused of making false claims of rape that sparked deadly communal riots in Mandalay last July have been found guilty under the 1950 Emergency Provisions Act and sentenced to lengthy prison terms, according to a government report.

The report said that Haji Tun Tun, Ye Htut, Phyu Phyu Min (a.k.a. Gadone Ma), Nu Nu Myat and Mar Mar Ni – the latter three are women – were found guilty under articles 5(d), 5(e) and 5(j) of the Emergency Provisions Act and Penal Code Article 211. Each was sentenced to a total of 21 years imprisonment with labour.

Two people were killed in the riots, sparked when a social media post went viral falsely alleging that two Muslim men had raped a Buddhist woman in the predominantly Muslim neighbourhood of Chan Aye Tharzan in the central Burmese city.

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Mandalay District Court in December sentenced 11 individuals to lengthy prison terms of ten to 16 years for the killing of one of the victims, Tun Tun.