Residents of southern Shan State told DVB that the regime-controlled Taunggyi Township court on Tuesday sentenced a man to seven years with hard labour in a hasty conviction under the “General Election Protection Law” due to comments he made on social media regarding the elections scheduled to begin on Dec. 28. He was arrested by police on Aug. 25 – two days after reportedly posting his comments.
“The court delivered the sentence on the first day of [the man’s] trial,” a resident familiar with the case told DVB on the condition of anonymity. The “General Election Protection Law,” enacted on July 29, carries a minimum sentence of three years in prison to a maximum sentence of death, if convicted of disrupting the elections.
The regime Home Affairs Minister Tun Tun Naung stated during a meeting in Naypyidaw on Sept. 5 that three people have been prosecuted under the new “General Election Protection Law” since it was enacted. Shan State has 55 constituencies and the first phase of the elections will be held in 12 of them, according to the UEC.
