Uwazi

Vietnam’s communist regime has convicted four activists named Mr. Vu Tien Chi, Ms. Nguyen Thi Cam Thuy, Ms. Ngo Thi Ha Phuong, and Mr. Le Viet Hoa of “Making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the State of Socialist Republic of Vietnam” under Article 117 of the country’s Criminal Code for their online activities.

In two separated trials held in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong and the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa on March 30, the four activists were sentenced to a combined total 31 years in prison and six years of probation. The People’s Court of Lam Dong gave Mr. Chi 10 years in prison followed by three years of probation while the People’s Court of Khanh Hoa sentenced Ms. Thuy to nine years in prison and three years of probation, Ms. Phuong- seven years and Mr. Hoa- five years in prison.

According to the indictment, from the beginning of 2018, Mr. Chi shared 338 articles and conducted 181 livestreams on his Facebook page with content distorting the regime’s policies and defaming senior communist leaders, including late President Ho Chi Minh, who founded the communist regime. These online posts are harmful for the regime and affected the people’s beliefs in the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam and its government, the trial panel of the People’s Court of Lam Dong concluded.

The People’s Court of Khanh Hoa province concluded that Ms. Thuy, a former school teacher fired for her political opinion, was responsible for 181 livestreams and many posts on her Facebook accounts “Nguyễn Cẩm Thúy” and “Cẩm Thúy Cô” to defame the regime. She was also accused of burning the red flags of the ruling party and the regime as well as cutting portraits of senior leaders, including the regime founder Ho Chi Minh.

On March 29, the Khanh Hoa newspaper, the mouthpiece of the province’s Party Committee reported that the province’s People’s Court will hold the first-instance hearing on March 30-31 to try Ms. Thuy and two others named Ngo Thi Phuong Ha and Le Viet Hoa, however, the state-controlled media has not reported their activities which can be used for their conviction.

The state-run newspapers also reported that Mr. Chi and Ms. Thuy know each other, having a joint plan to expand a network of people sharing the same thoughts to establish a political opposition.

Both Chi and Thuy were arrested on June 24 last year. There is no information about their pre-trial detention. It is unclear whether the four activists have their own lawyers during their trials or not.

They are among 51 activists being imprisoned on the charge of “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the Criminal Code 2015 (or Article 88 of the Penal Code 1999) which is condemned by the international community as an effective tool to silence government critics. President of the unregistered professional group Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN) PhD. Pham Chi Dung and his deputy Nguyen Tuong Thuy as well as world-recognized human rights defender and well-known political blogger Pham Doan Trang were also arrested on this charge. Mr. Dung and Mr. Thuy were sentenced to 15 years and 11 years in prison, respectively, in early January this year while Ms. Trang is still held incommunicado in pre-trial detention after her arrest on October 7 last year.

Ko La Raw from Kachin Waves and Ma Chan Bu, from the 74 Media, were arrested by the military while reporting in the city of Myitkyina on March 29. Witnesses said the journalists were both beaten and detained by authorities while reporting on a crackdown on anti-regime protestors.

The arrests coincide with escalating violence across the region, with reports of more than 114 people killed across Myanmar on Saturday, March 27, including several children. Police also opened fire on a funeral crowd in the city of Bago for Thae Maung Maung, a 20-year-old killed March 27. Myanmar’s annual Armed Forces Day on March 27 was the bloodiest single day since the coup began on February 1. As the anti-regime protests entered their seventh week, the UN released a statement condemning the violence and calling on the military “to immediately stop killing the very people it has the duty to serve and protect”.

In the morning and evening of 14 March, protesters at the ‘Through the Sky Village’ set up near Government House were rounded up with no warrants shown. The Prime Minister denied any connection with the group photo of the new cabinet.

In both incidents, protesters in the makeshift village observed by peaceful methods by sitting or lying down, raising the 3-finger salute and letting the police take them into custody.

Those arrested were divided into 2 groups: 61 people who were arrested at 06.00 on Sunday and 31 who re-established the village in the afternoon and were arrested in the evening. Before being taken to court for a temporary detention order hearing, the first group were detained and charged at the Border Patrol Police Region 1, Pathum Thani, and the second at the Narcotics Suppression Bureau on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road.

On Monday night, all 92 were released on bail with 20,000 baht each as securities.

99 were arrested in total, but 6 were youths and earlier given bail by the court earlier while one other was allowed bail by the police.

92 were sent to Dusit Court for a temporary detention order hearing on Monday morning. They were charged with violating the Emergency Decree, causing traffic disorder and public dirtiness. Lawyers were waiting to submit bail requests.

On Monday, people gathered at the Pathumwan Skywalk to protest against the arrests. A protest was called for 14.00 on Tuesday 30 March at Government House to coincide with the cabinet photo shoot. The gathering perhaps is a symbolic action of resistance as the real photo shoot has been taken at Tuesday morning.

Kazakh authorities detained at least 20 people as demonstrators staged anti-China protests in towns and cities across the Central Asian nation on March 27.

The protesters rallied against China’s increasing influence and economic power in the former Soviet republic.

Activists also denounced the mass incarceration of members of indigenous Turkic-speaking communities in China’s Xinjiang region, including ethnic Kazakhs and Uyghurs.

Protests were held in Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, and in the capital, Nur-Sultan, as well as Oral, Shymkent, and Aqtobe.

In Almaty, several hundred people gathered in a square to denounce what they said was “Chinese expansion” in Kazakhstan. At least seven protesters were detained on their way to the rally.

In Nur-Sultan, several people were detained on their way to a rally. Police cordoned off a square where protesters were expected to gather.

The protests were called by the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) and the unregistered Democratic Party of Kazakhstan (DPK).

In recent months, many activists across Kazakhstan have been handed parole-like sentences for their involvement in the activities of the DVK, as well as for taking part in rallies organized by the group.

The DVK is led by Mukhtar Ablyazov, the fugitive former head of Kazakhstan’s BTA Bank and an outspoken critic of the Kazakh government.

Human rights groups have said Kazakhstan’s law on public gatherings violates international standards as it requires preliminary permission from authorities to hold rallies and envisions prosecution for organizing and participating in unsanctioned rallies, even though the nation’s constitution guarantees its citizens the right of free assembly.

Kazakh authorities have insisted that there are no political prisoners in the country.

On 27 March, authorities in Ha Noi arrested Le Trong Hung under Article 117, who had applied to be an independent (or ‘self-nominated’) candidate for a National Assembly seat in Ha Noi city. Le Trong Hung is a citizen journalist and a member of Chan Hung TV, a media group which broadcasts Facebook livestreams about social and political issues. According to his family, Le Trong Hung was arrested while walking in his neighbourhood and taken to his home by police who then searched the house. It is unknown where he is currently being detained.

A jailed student protester from Magway who had his hand amputated after a brutal attack by soldiers in late March applied for bail on Thursday, his family has said.

Hlyan Phyo Aung, a 22-year-old civil engineering student who faces an incitement charge, was expecting to be freed along with more than 2,000 others on Wednesday.

Instead he had his first court hearing on Thursday after it was postponed eight times. His family said they hoped the request would be granted on medical grounds because of his serious injuries.

“I just want to ask them to be reasonable and stop this madness,” said a relative.

The student was hospitalised after a soldier shot and destroyed his right hand at a rally in Magway on March 27. After the hand was amputated he was sent to Magway Prison, even though doctors said he urgently needed eye surgery.

“It doesn’t matter if one is educated or wealthy or not, a person is a person and should be treated as such,” the relative said. “Would they treat him the same way if he was their blood?” Thirty-six detainees who were still under police investigation and facing court hearings for protesting were released from Magway Prison on Wednesday.

Two of them were Hlyan Phyo Aung’s cellmates, who were detained at the same protest as him and facing the same charge under the same lawsuit, the relative said.

The cellmates had been helping Hlyan Phyo Aung, who has limited mobility, with his daily routine.

“Now he’s alone in his cell,” the relative said. “He had already packed his stuff thinking he would be released along with his cellmates. We just met with his friends who were released in front of the prison today.”

In addition to losing his right hand, Hlyan Phyo Aung was hit in his right eye with a blast of gunpowder. Both of his thighs and his left arm were perforated by rubber bullets. After receiving two months of treatment at a military hospital, doctors said he would still need physical therapy as well as surgery for his eye.

The relative said they feared the attention Hlyan Phyo Aung’s case has received was the reason the regime has not yet released him.

The underground National Unity Government has publicised his treatment as part of plans to submit evidence against the regime to the International Criminal Court.

“Every single word of support for him turns into poison for the military since this information has seeped to the international community, making it a ‘famous’ case,” the relative said.

“That’s probably why they’re not releasing him yet.”

Almost two months after the military seized power, people across Myanmar doggedly continued the fight to topple the regime on Thursday with protests in towns and cities across the country.

Once again, the military responded with murderous attacks, killing at least six. Fatalities were confirmed in Shan State’s Taunggyi, Kachin state’s Mohnyin and Sagaing region’s Khin-U.

The regime has now killed 320 people, including 20 children, in its bid to crush the democratic uprising, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Thursday’s renewed protests came a day after the country observed a “Silent Strike”. Businesses closed and people stayed in their homes as streets remained empty of pedestrians and cars.

The action was a show of strength and unity in response to the military’s hamfisted efforts to resume business as usual and force the economy to reopen after weeks of devastating strikes. It was also aimed at allowing people a chance to rest.

Here is a roundup of Thursday’s violence by region, as well as some additional details from Wednesday night that have now been confirmed:

Taunggyi, Shan state

Four people were killed and several, including a pregnant woman, were injured when soldiers opened fire on protesters in Taunggyi, locals said. The troops also used tear gas and rubber bullets during the attack.

Photos taken by locals and circulated on social media showed the regime’s forces beating residents and destroying their properties.

Residents said the army used drone cameras to watch over residential areas but Myanmar Now was unable to verify this.

Sources from the town said nearly 60 people were arrested during Thursday’s attacks and several people had their mobile phones seized.

Mohnyin, Kachin state

Forty-year-old Win Swe was shot in the abdomen and killed in Mohnyin when the junta’s forces opened fire on a crowd that had gathered in front of the police station to demand the release of nine protesters who were arrested on Thursday morning.

“At first, the police just said to disperse. Later a truck full of soldiers arrived and opened fire,” said a member of an aid group that is helping the injured.

Win Swe was a gasoline seller and a resident of the Aung Thabyay ward in Mohnyin.

Two other people in their 30s were severely injured during the attack, Mohnyin locals said.

hin-U, Sagaing region

In Khin-U, Sagaing region, troops from a battalion in nearby Shwebo attacked a pro-democracy demonstration and killed a 19-year-old demonstrator named Zaw Win Maung.

Two others were injured, according to a Khin-U resident.

“We had blocked main roads in town and troops from Shwebo came on foot to where we were at around midday. They started shooting as soon as they arrived,” the resident said.

Zaw Min Maung passed away at around 6pm while being treated at a local monastery. Soldiers then came and took his body as well as an injured teenager, whose whereabouts and condition is unknown.

On Wednesday night police arrested a group of 14 volunteer night guards in Aung Chan Thar ward. Residents then surrounded the police station to demand their release.

Police shot at the crowd outside the station but later released the night guards, a local said. Mandalay

A junta crackdown on a nighttime protest in Mandalay’s Kyaukpadaung township on Wednesday night left one person dead and three severely injured, a local rescue worker said. The protest was held to mark the end of the day’s Silent Strike.

Soldiers attacked the protest at around 8pm. Kyi Sett Hlaing, 23, was shot in the thigh and bled to death at around 11pm after he was unable to access medical treatment.

The rescue worker said his charity was delayed trying to reach injured protesters because there were soldiers patrolling the main road in the town in search of people who had left broken glass out to slow the advance of military vehicles.

“They were looking for those who shattered glass on the road, so we couldn’t go freely,” he said.

Also on Wednesday night, in Mandalay’s Chanmyathazi township, a 16-year-old boy was killed during an attack on residents who were banging pots at Sein Pan street near the intersection of 66th and 67th streets, a doctor who helped treat the injured told Myanmar Now.

The victim was identified as Phoe Hti. He was shot in the back by the junta’s troops, according to his relatives.The shootings started at 8:30pm and at least five other residents were injured, a rescue team said.

Before the shooting, soldiers shouted: “If you have courage, come out now!” a resident said.

“After we banged pots, they came in shouting ‘Who has the courage? Who was banging pots? Come out now!’ They then went around shooting. I’ve heard that some night watchmen were shot,” the resident added.

One person was shot in the abdomen and the other in the leg, she added.

“No rescue team has arrived, they have been left just like that,” she added, speaking at around 9pm on Wednesday. “We don’t dare to go out to look either.”

Ambulances were able to enter the area around 9:30pm that night and took the injured people to a clinic, a doctor said.

A court in the central Chinese province of Henan has handed down a 14-month jail term to performance artist and online influencer Chen Shaotian after he posted a number of critical comments about life under the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on Twitter.

Chen was sentenced to one year and two months' imprisonment by the Fugou County People's Court in Henan, which found him guilty of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," a charge frequently used to target critics of the regime.

Chen's sentence, which was issued on March 25, was based on more than 50 posts he made to Twitter that were deemed to be "hype about major sensitive events in China" and "political attacks."

One video still visible on Twitter shows him astride a moped, speeding down a road wearing a face-mask blazoned with the words "evil" and "understand," and yelling: "Understand this! Our evil government is far worse than any virus, for f*ck's sake!"

Chen's tweets had "attacked China's political system, insulted employees of the state, caused serious damage to China's national image and endangered its national interests," as well as "creating serious disorder in a public place," the court judgment said.

Dissident activist Ji Feng said Chen isn't a dissident in the strict sense, as he doesn't advocate any political or philosophical alternative to CCP rule.

"He lacks a systematic politics, and he has no deeply held position," Ji said. "It's all about dissatisfaction with the current reality."

He said Chen's jailing would likely have a chilling effect on people who feel the same way.

"There are many, many people like him, and eventually, they will probably be too scared to speak out any more," he said.

Hebei-based lawyer Pan Shaomin said Chen had become an online celebrity precisely because his posts exuded a general and profound sense of dissatisfaction.

"The social topics he cares about were very popular with the general public," Ji said. "He cursed the way things are in a funny way, and made people laugh and feel happier."

"That was how he became a celebrity, but that phenomenon is going to cause fear in certain quarters," he said.

Chen, originally a long-haul truck-driver, first started cursing out the government after travel bans and rural roadblocks at the start of the pandemic left him unable to do his job.

He was banned from social media platforms including WeChat and Douyin after his videos on the death of whistleblowing Wuhan doctor Li Wenliang went viral.

"What [Chen] was doing was anathema to the authorities, who shut down his China-based social media accounts," Pan said.

In December 2020, authorities in the Beijing district of Haidian jailed Li Guibao, who was known online as Fat Pig Full Circle Lao Li, to one year's imprisonment for "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble" after he criticized the authorities handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Li was detained two days after posting a 7,000-word article on April 9, 2020, in which he mostly talked about government's handling of the pandemic.

He was tried on Dec. 3, 2020 and sentenced on Dec. 24, 2020.

Six youth activists were detained for a night for collecting thumbprints — despite the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak — for a petition calling on the government to ease citizens’ costs of living, the Phnom Penh governor said.

“What they are looking for — thumbprints — that is against the Covid-19 rules,” Khuong Sreng said.

The activists had admitted their guilt and were released, he said, adding that such actions could lead to legal action if they were infected with Covid-19 and had transmitted the disease to others.

The governor added that they were focusing on the wrong issue at the wrong time.

“At this time, they should be holding banners and telling all people to wear masks to protect themselves from Covid-19,” Sreng said. “That would be the most appropriate.”

Keo Tith Lida, president of the Women’s Association for Society, said three of her members had been arrested on Wednesday while making copies of their petition to deliver to Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday.

She and two other members went to the Stung Meanchey 1 commune police station to try to secure the others’ release, but they were also detained, Tith Lida said.

The group has been collecting thumbprints for a petition calling on the government to ease people’s financial burdens. The petition suggests suspending payments to microfinance institutions and banks, halting water and electricity bills, reducing the price of gasoline, or halving businesses’ rent for three to six months.

Tith Lida said the six activists were detained overnight and released around 5 p.m. on Thursday.

“We were asked to make a contract … to not gather youths, to not collect thumbprints during Covid, and to not make any propaganda,” she said.

The campaign had now been suspended, she said.

Am Sam Ath, rights group Licadho’s monitoring manager, said everyone should be following the Health Ministry’s Covid-19 guidelines.

“There should be a discussion about solutions, and, in the future, they will follow the measures of the Ministry of Health and of the authorities about preventing the spread of Covid-19. That would be good,” Sam Ath said.

Tith Lida previously said the group had collected more than 200 thumbprints for its petition.

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to tens of thousands of job losses in Cambodia, with tourism having plummeted amid disruptions to global travel, and garment factories losing orders due to suppressed worldwide consumer demand.

More than 700,000 households, or about 2 million people, have received emergency cash handouts as part of the government’s IDPoor program, the Planning Ministry said last month.

On the night of March 24, police raided the media outlet’s office and two of its employees’ homes in Taunggyi, the capital of Shan state, and detained editor-in-charge Nann Nann Tai, reporter Nann Win Yi, and publisher Tin Aung Kyaw, according to a Facebook post by the outlet and a report by The Irrawaddy.

Kanbawza Tai News editor-in-chief Zay Tai told The Irrawaddy that the outlet had not received any warning or legal action before the arrests, and he did not know where the staffers were being held.

CPJ emailed and called Kanbawza Tai News, an independent news outlet which posts stories on its website and social media, but did not receive any responses. The outlet’s news website was still posting updates as of today, and has recently covered strikes and demonstrations against the country’s military government, which took power in a February coup.

“The jailing of Kanbawza Tai News staffers Nann Nann Tai, Nann Win Yi, and Tin Aung Kyaw is the latest in a lengthening list of crimes against the press by the Myanmar junta,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “They must be immediately and unconditionally freed along with all other journalists wrongfully detained in Myanmar.”

Zay Tai told The Irrawaddy that authorities had previously tried to arrest him in mid-March in a separate house raid, but he escaped.

Also on March 24, Myanmar authorities released hundreds of political prisoners, most of whom had been detained in clampdowns on anti-military protests, including Associated Press journalist Thein Zaw and Polish freelance photographer Robert Bociaga, according to news reports.

At least 23 other journalists remain in detention, including the Kanbawza Tai News staffers, according to data shared with CPJ by the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners, an independent rights group.

Twelve of those journalists have been charged under the penal code, with at least 10 facing charges under Article 505(a), a broad criminal provision that penalizes the dissemination of information that could agitate or cause security forces or state officials to mutiny, that data shows.

CPJ emailed the Ministry of Information for comment, but did not receive an immediate reply.

Yayasan Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Indonesia (YLBHI) said that 2 legal assistants for residents of Pancoran, South Jakarta, were detained by the South Jakarta Metro Police. "Two legal assistants for the residents of Pancoran, Safaraldy from LBH Jakarta and Dzuhrian from Paralegal Jalanan were arrested for no reason by the South Jakarta Police on Wednesday, March 24, 2021. Both were detained while delivering a letter regarding the refusal to investigate the Pancoran residents

Saw Lin Htet, an ethnic Karen student from Myanmar currently studying at Mahidol University, has been arrested in Myanmar after joining an anti-coup protest while conducting research, and has not been heard from since.

Saw Lin Htet is a student in the Human Rights and Democratisation master’s degree programme at the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies (IHRP), Mahidol University. IHRP lecturer Bencharat Sae Chua said that he returned to his home country to conduct research for his thesis. While in Myanmar, he also joined anti-coup protests after the Myanmar military took power on 1 February 2021.

Bencharat said she was informed that Saw Lin Htet was arrested on 23 March 2021, while driving home in Hpa-An, the capital city of Karen State, with his 4-year-old daughter. He was stopped by military officers, who searched his car without presenting a warrant and arrested him after they found anti-government material.

He was accused of inciting violence against the state under Section 505 of Myanmar’s Criminal Code, which carries a prison sentence of up to 3 years.

He was taken to court on 6 April 2021, but his trial was not heard as there were too many cases. However, that evening, his wife noticed that he was not in the prisoner bus returning to prison, so she went to search for him both at the prison and at the police station, but no officer was able to tell her where he is. He has not been heard from since.

Saw Lin Htet’s family and friends are now concerned for his wellbeing. Bencharat said a petition has been filed with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, and that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights received the petition on 9 April. Meanwhile, his wife and daughter are in hiding out of fear that they are in danger from state officials.

His classmates at Mahidol University have also set up the Facebook page “Free Saw Lin” to call attention to his arrest and disappearance. On 9 April, they also issued a statement raising concerns about Saw Lin Htet’s wellbeing and calling on the Myanmar government to guarantee the rights Saw Lin Htet and other political detainees, as well as to allow them the right to be represented by a lawyer and to have a fair trial.

“We gravely fear for the condition of Saw Lin, who as of this moment remains under incommunicado detention,” says the statement. “Saw Lin’s current physical health is fragile since he is a survivor of childhood tuberculosis. His lack of consistent access to lawyers and his family clear violates his rights as an accused and person deprived of liberty.

“We appeal to the Government of the Union of Myanmar to allow Saw Lin, along with other political detainees, to have their rights guaranteed under the law. We request that they are granted access to justice, be represented by their counsels, and have a fair trial.”

Chukiat ‘Justin’ Saengwong, a pro-democracy protester, was arrested at night on 22 March on a charge of royal defamation and taken into police custody awaiting a court decision on bail. The court then allow the police request for temporary detention.

At 13.01 of 23 March, he was waiting for a court decision on his bail application via a teleconference hearing, according to Bencha Saengchantra, the Move Forward Party MP requesting bail for Chukiat. Bencha also said the police were going to transfer Chukiat to court in the morning, but suddenly changed to a teleconference hearing.

At 17.12, the court denied bail, giving as reasons the seriousness of the charge, the heavy penalty, and the fact that the accused committed similar offences after previously being allowed bail, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR). The offence that resulted in his arrest was from his part in the 20 March protest at Sanam Luang, although the offending action has not yet been identified exactly.

Chukiat posted on Facebook at 20.15 on 22 March “The police are taking me to Chanasongkram Police Station. Arrest warrant [Section] 112”. But supporters who went to Chanasongkram Police Station could not find him until he appeared at Huai Kwang Police Station at 23.00.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), whose lawyer was able to meet Chukiat at 00.54 on 23 March, tweeted that the police tried to interrogate Chukiat with a lawyer that they assigned to him and confiscated his phone. Because he objected to this, the police had him handcuffed and detained.

Police officer from the Jayapura City Police arrested five students demonstrating carrying the Bintang Kejora flag on Monday (22/3/2021). The police also disband a demonstration demanding that Government of Indonesia open access for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit Papua. The rally was initiated by students of the students of Universitas Sains dan Teknologi Jayapura (USTJ) on campus. Initially, the protesters had time to postpone their action, because they saw that the police were already on campus.

MANILA – Human rights group Karapatan is calling for the release of their Lumad colleague who was arrested by police in Cagayan de Oro City early morning Sunday, March 21.

Renalyn Tejero, 25, a Karapatan Caraga paralegal and a Manobo, has turned up under arrest at the Camp Col. Rafael Rodriguez, the Philippine National Police (PNP) Caraga regional office 13 in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte.

Tejero had been missing for half a day, having lost contact with her colleagues after she was last seen being taken by armed men at 5 A.M. in another province, in barangay Lapasan, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental.

It turned out a joint police and military team arrested her on charges of murder and attempted multiple murder, as announced by the PNP Caraga late this afternoon. They flaunted having nabbed Tejero, who they claimed is the region’s “top 1 most wanted NPA (New People’s Army).”

The PNP Caraga also claimed that Tejero is “one of the primary suspects” in the killing of Zaldy Acidillo Ybañez and Datu Bernandino Astudillo Surigao del Sur last year.

This was the same charge against Rogelio de Asis, Pamalakaya Caraga chairperson, and auditor of Pamalakaya National. De Asis was arrested on Feb. 11 at his home in Buenavista, Agusan del Norte.

The arrest warrants issued by the Regional Trial Court branch 34 recommends no bail for the murder case, and a fixed bail of Php120,000 for the multiple attempted murder case, the PNP Caraga said.

Tejero is the second activist from Caraga who was arrested in four days. On March 17, a similar joint police and military operation arrested Rosanilla “Teacher Lai” Consad, ACT secretary in Region XIII, a special education teacher and an assistant principal of San Vicente National High School in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte.

Also in the region just last February, four prominent activists were arrested on murder charges, which their organizations denounced as trumped-up cases.

The PNP Caraga said Tejero was arrested by a composite team of the PNP regional intelligence units from Region 13 and Region 10, the Philippine Army’s 402nd Brigade under the 4th Infantry Division, the 23rd Infantry Battalion and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Progressive groups denounced Tejero’s arrest and called for her release. The Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) in a Facebook post said Tejero is an “IFI active youth member.” Katribu Youth called the arrest “an attack on indigenous peoples and people’s rights.”

Police in north-central Vietnam’s Nghe An province arrested the owner of a private clinic on Monday, accusing the physician of undermining people’s trust in the Communist Party in a series of articles posted on social media, state media sources said.

Nguyen Duy Huong, a 34-year-old medical doctor and owner of the Duy Nhi clinic in the Yen Thanh district’s Vienh Tanh commune, was charged under Article 117 of the Criminal Code with “creating, storing, or disseminating information and documents against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.”

Security services said that articles posted since 2018 on Huong’s Facebook page included a Feb. 20, 2021 story called “Why Should We Criticize Nguyen Phu Trong,” which criticized the ruling Communist Party general secretary, now serving his third term in office, for turning the party into “a swamp.”

Huong had written in the same article that he was willing to sacrifice even his family and job in order to change the Party and the country, according to a report in the Ministry of Public Security’s official newspaper.

“I have devoted my life to this [cause],” Huong wrote, quoted in the Ministry paper. “Reforms must be carried out so that our people can really be their own masters, the party can be cleaned up, and the country can move forward.”

Huong’s writings had undermined the Vietnamese people’s trust in their ruling party and the socialist regime and had harmed political and ideological unity in the country, and should therefore be “handled strictly,” the ministry paper said.

On 20 March, protesters gathered at Sanam Luang demanding that the power of the monarchy be limited under the constitution. The police responded by setting up a long barrier of containers. The people faced retaliation after removing the blockade. Rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannon were deployed broadly and indiscriminately.

As of Sunday morning, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights reported that 32 people were arrested. 30 people were taken to Border Patrol Police Region 1 headquarters in Pathum Thani for detention and investigation.

The Erawan Medical Centre reported on Sunday that 33 people were injured and transferred to hospital.

The protest was scheduled after a popular vote in the REDEM communication group. Protesters gathered at Sanam Luang at around 17.50 to face a long barrier of containers stacked two-high barring them from accessing the Grand Palace walls. The blockade was reportedly put in place at around 07.00 on Saturday. As more people arrived, some protesters were seen pulling down part of the wall of containers. At around 19.00 a path opened up after a row of containers was removed. Crowd control police behind the blockade began to warn the protesters not to cross the line otherwise they would be arrested.

At 19.02 water cannon opened fire from behind the blockade as the police were preparing arrest teams. 8 explosions were heard. The protesters retreated to Phan Phipop Lila Bridge before re-entering Sanam Luang, waving large white banners, only to face more water cannon fire. The water was reportedly infused with a tear gas agent. At around 19.30, the protesters were flanked by crowd control police who marched from Ratchadamnoen Road toward the protesters. The police on both sides then started forcibly dispersing protestors. Tear gas and rubber bullets were widely used at this stage as the protesters made a retreat to Phra Pinklao Bridge, the only major exit that remained open.

Doi, a 15-year-old young woman, was injured in the left chest by a rubber bullet. She said she was at the Mother Earth Statue across Sanam Luang when the police announced that they would arrest people who were lingering on the street. However, the police shot her after a couple seconds without allowing her to run. Doi said she was terrified and hurt. She said her family is not against her coming to the protest. However, getting hurt is not what she wanted as she was afraid of missing a test because of her injury.

The standoff at Phra Pinklao Bridge went on for around 1 hour. Tear gas and explosions were observed several times. The media around Ratchadamnoen Road were restricted in a designated area by the police.

At 20.43, crowd control police opened a path to Atsadang Road, allowing protesters to leave. Police asked the media to lead the people out of the area. Afraid of an ambush by a pro-monarchy vigilante group, the protesters urged the police to lead them out to a safe place. 2 units of police were deployed to lead the protesters out.

At 21.45, a person was attacked by an unidentified group of men around Wat Mahannapharam with some sort of flag pole. He was injured in the head and taken to hospital.

At 21.53, the Coalition of Salaya for Democracy posted on Facebook that a person was shot with live ammunition by unknown men around the Giant Swing.

At 22.24, Prachatai journalist Sarayut Tangprasert was shot in the back by a rubber bullet while livestreaming the crackdown at Kok Wua intersection, leading to Khao San Road. He was wearing a media armband provided by the Thai Journalists Association (TJA). During the night, journalists from Channel 8 and Khaosod were injured by rubber bullets, one to the head and one to the leg.

The police set up a line at Kok Wua intersection, moving back and forth to disperse protestors. People who were sitting in Khao San Road booed them before the police moved away from the famous tourist destination which is now less crowded due to the pandemic. Deputy Police Spokesperson Pol Col Kritsana Pattanacharoen said the police responded to the protest in accordance with legal provisions, noting that the protest was not allowed according to the restrictions of the Emergency Decree to control the spread of Covid-19. The police had warned the protesters not to trespass beyond the blockade. Protesters still came forward and some attacked the police with marbles or bolts fired by slingshots.

“In carrying out their duty this evening, police officers have used restraint, acting according to the steps of the law, acting strictly according to regulations in political science and legal principles,” said Kritsana.

At 21.15, the Medics and Nurses for the People volunteer group estimated that at least 30 people had been injured from tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannon blasts and assaults.

At around 23.00 a clash broke out at Wan Chat Bridge, 400 meters from the Democracy Monument when protesters seized a police van and used it as a shield. The Tempo News reported men were caught throwing a home-made explosive at the police from the lines of media. Molotov cocktails were used but quickly put out. Police returned fire with tear gas and rubber bullets.

According to the Reporters Facebook live feed, crowd control police staged a crackdown at around 23.00, resulting in 9 arrests. 1 police officer and 1 other person were injured and taken away from the scene.

On 23.30, the Dao Din activist group gathered in front of Khon Kaen University Police Station to protest against the violence in Bangkok.

Calm before the storm The Free YOUTH Movement, one of the protest organizers formed in 2020, published a statement demanding limits to the power of the monarchy, the demilitarization of politics and universal social welfare. Activities began peacefully. The protest on Saturday was meant to send messages via paper planes to address the issue of limiting the power of the monarchy under the constitution. People were seen flying kites, raising banners and spraying the ground with graffiti.

The artists' network Free Arts were also organising activities during the protest. Earlier in the evening, they were spray-painting pictures of activists currently imprisoned for charges relating to political activities, as well as messages such as “Free our friends” and “Abolish Section 112” onto kites, which can then be seen flying above Sanam Luang. A representative of the group said that the idea behind the event is that several of the imprisoned activists are facing charges because of the protest at Sanam Luang on 19 – 20 September 2020, so the group decided to paint their pictures onto kites to show that they are thinking of those who are imprisoned.

The representative also said that one of the activities they think of when they return to Sanam Luang was flying kites, and that the event is also symbolic of how Sanam Luang used to be a public space where anyone can organize an event.

Free Arts also planned to use the space for dancing, and said that there is also a plan for participants to read out Anon Nampa’s speech on monarchy reform. However, these activities did not take place as the protest was cut short due to police violence.

Eak, joining the protest wearing a T-shirt with a parody of the Naruto manga, changing the name to Narutu, a reference to the nickname (Tu) of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha. He said he wanted to express his anger at Thai politics. “I am angry at the senators who rejected the draft constitution. I am angry that our friends were ordered to be detained by the court without a verdict. It is against international principles, against every theory, against everything.”

Eak wants the government to step down for the good of Thai children and the future.

BANGKOK — At least 20 people were taken into custody after riot police broke up a protest calling for a monarchy reform at Sanam Luang on Saturday night, police said Sunday.

The rally outside the Grand Palace was organized by the REDEM group, who had said they planned to have demonstrators throw paper planes with messages over the palace walls.

The protesters, who numbered close to 1,000, gathered at Sanam Luang, where they were met with a massive barricade made of shipping containers to defend palace grounds. They proceeded to dismantle the obstacle installed by the police, to which the police retaliated with water cannons, tear gas, and rubber bullets as they moved in to clear out the remaining protesters in the vicinity.

Protesters pull down a shipping container used as a barricade near the Grand Palace on Mar. 20, 2021. Protesters pull down a shipping container used as a barricade near the Grand Palace on Mar. 20, 2021. “Demonstrators began the violence,” deputy Bangkok police commander Piya Tawichai said. “The police were on the defense, since we were tasked to enforce laws and defend public property. Although the protesters claimed that they are leaderless, our investigation found that they actually have leaders, but they are not coming forward.”

Police said a total of 20 people were arrested during the crackdown on protesters last night, though the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights group reported as many as 32 people, including seven minors, were taken into custody.

They faced six charges, which include breaking the Emergency Decree’s ban on mass gatherings, causing public disturbance, and resisting arrests, police said.

Khaosod English correspondents at the scene said police appeared to rely heavily on rubber bullets than any crowd control measures on Saturday night, especially during smaller clashes that flared up at multiple locations along the historic Ratchadamnoen Avenue as demonstrators hurled objects, including devices believed to be firecrackers, and set fires to deter riot police.

Bangkok’s emergency medical service center said a total of 33 people were injured. Twenty of them were civilians, while 13 of them were police officers.

At least three reporters, including Khaosod’s Thanyalak Wannakote and Prachatai’s Sarayut Tangprasert, were hit by rubber bullets. Police said they were hit by stray bullets as officers had already warned them to leave the area.

“We instructed police officers to use riot control measures in accordance with the regulations,” Maj. Gen. Piya said. “We insured warnings to journalists, volunteer medical workers, and civilians to disperse. However, not all of them left, so some were hit by stray bullets during the commotion. The metro police chief has already acknowledged and will visit the victims.”

Thai media guilds issued a joint statement Sunday asking every party to show tolerance, though it did not condemn police use of force on journalists on the frontline.

“Journalists working at protest sites must strictly observe the guidelines for reporting during a crisis to prevent loss of lives and properties,” the statement wrote. “Journalists working at protest sites should wear an identification armband every time, however it is not guaranteed to protect them from violence.”

The REDEM group, short for Restart Democracy, claims to have no leaders and relies on opinion polls on the Telegram messaging app to make key decisions. The group said they will call for another rally on Sunday after the majority voted for, though they have yet to announce the venue.

A BBC journalist and a former Mizzima News reporter were arrested by men believed to be plainclothes officers in Naypyitaw on Friday afternoon, a family member confirmed.

BBC Burmese journalist Aung Thura was in front of the Dekkhina District court to report on a hearing for National League for Democracy patron Win Htein when he was arrested. Former Mizzima correspondent Than Htike Aung was with him at the time of the arrest.

No further details of the arrest or the reporters’ detention were known at the time of reporting, according to Aung Thura’s relative.

“I saw some plainclothes officers dragging away a person in trousers into a car,” lawyer Min Min Soe, who was near the court at the time, told Myanmar Now. The man she saw is believed to be Than Htike Aung.

“Two other officers in plainclothes were hassling another individual in a paso [traditional sarong for men] and glasses,” she said, referring to Aung Thura. “It was quite a scene so I don’t know what happened next.”

BBC News issued a statement on Friday afternoon saying that they are "doing everything [they] can" to find Aung Thura, who they described as being taken away by unidentified men.

“We call on the authorities to help locate him and confirm that he is safe,” the statement said.

As of March 16, a total of 38 journalists had been arrested or targeted for arrest since the February 1 coup. The latest arrests of the BBC and former Mizzima journalists push this number up to 40.

Only 22 of these reporters have been released. Ten journalists have been charged with violating Section 505(a) of the penal code, which has been used against people who are seen as causing fear, spreading fake news, or agitating government employees. Under recent amendments to the law, the charges come with a three-year prison sentence if convicted.

Online news website The Irrawaddy has also been charged by the junta as violating the same statute for showing “disregard” for the armed forces in their reporting of the ongoing anti-regime protests.

Five publications, including Myanmar Now and Mizzima had their offices raided and their publishing licenses revoked earlier this month by the regime.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) condemned the arrest of a union leader in Butuan City and called for her immediate release.

Rosanilla “Teacher Lai” Consad, ACT secretary in Region XIII, a special education teacher and an assistant principal of San Vicente National High School, was arrested yesterday, March 17, at around 4:30 pm in Butuan City by Regional Intelligence Unit 13 of National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), the police and military.

Consad is also a member of ACT’s National Council.

Consad is being charged with attempted homicide in relation to a New People’s Army ambush in Sitio Manhupaw, Brgy. Poblacion 2, Santiago in Agusan del Norte last November 21.

ACT secretary-general Raymond Basilio said that Consad had been a victim of state vilification and repression since 2018.

In November 2019, she reported about intelligence agents visiting her school to inform her that she and her husband are part of a certain hit list supposedly for being activists.

“Teacher Lai’s case only proves that terrorist-tagging serves as a prelude to worse, more fascist attacks on rights, freedoms, and lives. All of which are part of the Duterte regime’s systematic attack on the Filipino people as it desperately seeks to silence all dissent and establish its tyrannical rule,” Basilio said.

ACT Teachers Party slams DILG memo

Meanwhile, ACT Teachers Party Rep. France Castro said that teacher Lai has been a victim of harassment, threats and red-tagging by state security forces for standing up for the rights and welfare of her fellow public school teachers in Caraga.

“The arrest came days after the DILG release a memorandum tagging ACT and other progressive groups in the public sector as a communist terrorist groups. These are the real threats of red-tagging to the safety, security and freedoms of activists, human rights defenders and union leaders who have been vocal about the failure of the Duterte administration in addressing the perennial crisis of the country’s health system, education system and economy,” Castro said.

ACT Teachers Party will file a house resolution in Congress to investigate Consad’s arrest, Castro added

Consad is expected to file a petition today to be allowed post bail.

On 17 March, Phromson Wirathammachari, a protester well-known for his speeches, went to hear a charge of lèse majesté at Thanyaburi Police Station but the police suddenly handed him over to the court, with a request to detain him.

According to TLHR, the court denied Phromson bail, citing the gravity of the charge, the severe penalty, and the likelihood that he would either flee or repeat the offence. The decision led to him being detained at Thanyaburi prison even though was seriously injured from a traffic accident,.

Sasinan Thamnithinan, a TLHR lawyer who went to the police station with Phromson, posted on Facebook an account of the police haste. The post stated that although Phromson came to the station with his injuries to prove that he had no intention to flee, the deputy superintendent (investigation), after the regular investigation stage, suddenly decided to take him to court before the court closed.

Sasinan doubted the police decision because for a detention request, the appointment at the station would be for the morning instead of the afternoon. The police also expressed uneasiness at her attempt to consult with Phromson over this sudden turn of events. The station superintendent gave them 2 minutes to consult in private.

Without being prepared, Sasinan wrote the bail request as fast as she could. However, the court denied bail, giving similar reasons to those in Chukiat’s case.

TLHR reported on 22 March that at least 76 people have been prosecuted under the royal defamation law in 66 cases. 27 cases were filed by ordinary citizens, 5 by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society and the rest by the police. 4 of the accused are under the age of 18.

Sri Lankan Police have arrested freelance journalist, Sujeewa Gamage, for allegedly making 'false claims that he was abducted, tortured and abandoned on a road in Colombo by armed men on 10 March 2021,

While receiving treatment for burns and injuries in the hospital, Gamage told the press that the attack was to obtain information, containing his news sources and of his affiliations with opposition politicians, that was in his possession at the time of the incident.

On 17 March, police officers of the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) detained and investigated the journalist soon after he released from the hospital. According to Attorney-at-law, Namal Rajapaksha, whose representation was retained by Gamage’s relatives, he was denied entry into the custody and was told by a police officer that his client will not be released for putting the government “in a difficult position.”

The CCD is also reportedly going to interrogate former Minister Rajitha Senaratne and former MP Chathura Senaratne in connection with the case. According to Police Media Spokesperson Ajith Rohana, Gamage had visited an office of Chathura Senaratne in Thimbirigasyaya, where he had met with Rajitha Senaratne at the office. The suspect has also admitted that he had made a false complaint through a confession, Rohana added.

On Friday Gamage was granted bail.

Media freedom continues to be under significant threat as an increasing number of attacks against journalists continue to be reported under the Rajapaksa regime. Last month, a Tamil Guardian correspondent, who went to report on a Tamil landowner dispute in Mullaitivu, was threatened and harassed by Forest Department officers.

As the two have not returned for hours, family members have retained the service of attorney at law Namal Rajapaksha. Police have intimidated him and threatened that Gamage will not be released “because a lawyer has come on behalf of the journalist”.

“Relatives of my client told me that he is been interrogated under duress for hours,” lawyer Rajapaksha told JDS.

“Not only I wasn't allowed to provide legal assistance, police threatened me saying that he wont be released as a lawyer coming to the police station on behalf of him is an offence. I was not even allowed to pass the gate although I explained that he is a torture victim who was just discharged from hospital. An Assistant Superintendent of Police named Anuranga told me that my client will not be released as he has put the government in a difficult position.”

An organizer of rallies protesting Kyrgyzstan's proposed constitutional amendments has been detained for allegedly calling on people to seize power before the changes become law.

Bishkek police said on March 16 that Tilekmat Kudaibergenov (aka Kurenov) had been detained a day earlier and remains in police custody.

The former leader of the Zamandash political party, Jenis Moldokmatov, said on March 16 that before detaining Kudaibergenov, police searched his home and the office of the Against KHANstitution movement that opposes the constitutional amendments initiated by President Sadyr Japarov.

Kudaibergenov was one of the organizers of a March 9 rally in Bishkek against the amendments that are expected to be approved in a nationwide referendum on April 11.

Critics say Japarov wants to consolidate power in his hands through the amendments, which envision a dramatic increase in presidential powers.

On the same day Kudaibergenov was detained, Japarov defended the controversial amendments in an interview with RFE/RL, vowing that "Kyrgyzstan will remain a democratic country, without any types of political persecution."

Kudaibergenov is a noted activist and also known as a founder and leader of a movement against granting concessions for the Jetim-Too iron-ore field near the Chinese border to foreign investors.

Violent suppression of Myanmar demonstrations killed 15 people Thursday, raising the death toll from five weeks of street protests to 73, as the military junta announced a corruption investigation of leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other top officials from the deposed civilian government.

Accusations by the military regime that Aung San Suu Kyi had accepted U.S. $600,000 and more than 25 pounds of gold, swiftly dismissed as “totally baseless” by an MP from her National League for Democracy (NLD), add to a list of charges imposed on the 75-year-old leader since she was ousted and detained on Feb. 1.

While the military pressed its case against Aung San Suu Kyi and other top NLD figures at a news conference in Naypyidaw, violent crackdowns by police and soldiers killed at least 15 protesters in the cities of Yangon, Myaing, Mandalay, Myingyan, and Bago. The confirmed death toll tis now 73, according to an RFA tally.

Police and soldiers in Myanmar’s second-largest city Mandalay killed one man and wounded 30 others when they cracked down on protesters near the Koe Lone Dagar Pagoda, witnesses said. At least 20 protesters were arrested in the incident.

In Myingyan, in central Myanmar’s Mandalay region, residents said a man shot during a protest Wednesday died of his injuries Thursday.

In Bago region, one man died by police gunfire and another was hit in the leg, though his wound was not life-threatening, a witness said.

Residents in Kalaymyo, Sagaing region, continued protest marches despite a police crackdown on Wednesday. Five people there already have been arrested, including one who was taken from his home during the night, locals said.

The Myanmar junta’s response to peaceful protests likely meets the legal threshold for crimes against humanity, the U.N.’s special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar told the Human Rights Council on Thursday.

“The people of Myanmar need not only words of support but supportive action,” said Tom Andrews in a statement. “They need the help of the international community, now.”

The appeal came a day after the U.N. Security Council issued its strongest statement since the Feb. 1 coup.

“The Security Council strongly condemns the violence against peaceful protestors, including against women, youth and children,” the statement said.

It also called for the “immediate release of all those detained arbitrarily” in a statement that was agreed after accepting the objections of China, Russia, and Vietnam to language calling the takeover “a coup.”

On Wednesday, U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the two adult children of coup leader and commander-in-chief of the military forces, Min Aung Hlaing, as well as six companies of his two adult children. Min Aung Hlaing was placed on the U.S. blacklist on Feb. 11.

“The indiscriminate violence by Burma’s security forces against peaceful protesters is unacceptable,” said Andrea Gacki, director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, in a statement.

“The United States will continue to work with our international partners to press the Burmese military and police to cease all violence against peaceful protestors and to restore democracy and the rule of law in Burma,” she added.

The Director of LBH Makassar Muhammad Haedir revealed that two protesters at the commemoration of International Women's Day in Makassar, South Sulawesi were detained for 24 hours at the Makassar Police Headquarters. He said the chronology of the arrests began when the protesters demonstrated their voices on various women's issues last Monday (8/3). When the masses were preparing to disperse, continued Haedir, suddenly there were community organizations that accused them of supporting the Papua issue

Defend the Defenders, March 10, 2021

Authorities in Vietnam’s northern province of Ninh Binh have arrested local Facebooker Tran Quoc Khanh and charged him with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 117 of the country’s Criminal Code for his online posts criticizing the communist regime on various issues.

According to the state-controlled media, Mr. Khanh, 61, was detained by the Ninh Binh police on March 10 and taken him to a provincial detention center. He will be held incommunicado for at least four months and not allowed to meet his defense lawyer and relatives in the pre-trial detention. He will face imprisonment of between seven and 12 years even 20 years in prison if is convicted, according to the current law.

Mr. Khanh has posted his own writings, carrying out many livestreams and sharing numerous articles on his Facebook account Trần Quốc Khánh with the content related on serious human rights violations, systemic corruption among state officials, the Vietnamese communist regime’s weak response to China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea) and widespread environmental pollution. The state-controlled media reported that he was arrested due to his posts which defaming the communist regime and distorting its policies.

Recently, Khanh has announced that he would run for a seat in the country’s highest legislative body National Assembly in the general election scheduled in May as an indipendent candidate.

He has been the third Facebooker being arrested for online posts so far this year. One month ago, the authorities of the central province of Quang Trị arrested state newspaper’s journalist Phan Bui Bao Thy and his partner Le Anh Dung and charged them with “abusing democratic freedom” under Article 331 of the Criminal Code for their online posts to denounce corruption of state officials in the local projects.

In January this year, Vietnam convicted three independent journalists Pham Chi Dung, Nguyen Tuong Thuy and Pham Minh Tuan, members of the Independent Journalist Association of Vietnam, and environmentalist Dinh Thi Thu Thuy to between seven years and 15 years in prison on the allegation of “conducting anti-state propaganda.”

Vietnam’s already low tolerance of dissent deteriorated sharply in recent years with a spate of arrests of hundreds of independent journalists, publishers, and Facebookers. With many conservative figures of the ruling Communist Partybeing re-elected to the country’s leadership in the next five years in the 13th National Congress which ended on February 1, more arrests are expected in future.

Police and soldiers arrested between 100 and 200 people and shot at least one during another vicious attack on peaceful protesters in North Okkalapa on Wednesday morning.

The attack came a week after the coup regime’s forces murdered at least 1o in the Yangon township and badly injured dozens of others, according to local aid group estimates.

The demonstrators were gathered near the Kantharyar park at around 10am when the security forces attempted to surround them while firing rubber bullets and tear gas.

A young female protester suffered severe injuries to the bladder after being shot with live ammunition during the attack; she is receiving treatment and is in a serious but stable condition, according to a fellow protester who witnessed the incident, which was also captured in videos shared on Facebook.

The protesters fled into the park and to the nearby Sein Gay Har shopping mall to hide. But they were chased and caught, said a woman who later joined a crowd facing off with security forces to demand the release of the protesters.

“They made the kids kneel down and slapped them,” she told Myanmar Now.

The detained protesters were lined up in rows inside the park, footage shows. They were later taken away in prison trucks to a barracks in Shwepyitha township, witnesses said.

Soldiers and police also raided homes on a street next to the park to arrest protesters who were hiding there, as well as homeowners who sheltered them. They beat the protesters after detaining them, a resident said.

In some cases, local informers seeking favour with the authorities betrayed the location of hiding protesters to security forces, according to residents who assisted the protesters.

“So many people got arrested, even inside homes, because of the snitches,” said the woman who joined the crowd calling for the release of the protesters.

About 150 soldiers and police were involved in the crackdown in the morning, then another 100 showed up as reinforcements later, local residents said.

As the protesters were put into trucks, a group of supporters showed up to demand their release, raising their hands and even kneeling to show they were unarmed and peaceful, a video posted to social media showed.

Soldiers aim guns at protesters in Yangon’s North Okkalapa township on March 10.

“They took so many,” said a man who filmed the scene, referring to the detained. “Our comrades, brothers and sisters, please think about how much danger they are in now.”

Soldiers and police attacked that group with tear gas, stun grenades, and smoke bombs, a livestream of the crackdown showed.

Tensions remained high until around 2pm, when the junta’s forces threw more tear gas into the crowd before taking away the protesters.

Later, a group of protesters showed up outside a military intelligence interrogation center near the Aung Mingalar bus station to demand the protesters’ release, according to local residents. Soldiers fired guns to disperse the crowd, but no injuries were reported.

“They took turns, beating us relentlessly. We couldn’t stay on our knees for long. Every time we fell, they would start beating on us again. So many of us were beaten up,” said a 30-year-old man from Myeik, in southern Myanmar’s Tanintharyi region.

The man is one of more than 70 protesters arrested during anti-coup demonstrations in Myeik on Tuesday.

He recalled how soldiers and police closed in on them from both ends of D street in the city’s Kat Thit ward at around 9am. There were around 45 men and 25 women in the group, he said, ranging in age from their early teens to their thirties.

All of the men were whipped repeatedly with strips of iron or beaten with wooden rods. Some were even hit with heavy chains, he said.

Photos received by Myanmar Now showed the extent of the damage inflicted on them: their backs, buttocks and chests were covered with painful-looking injuries.

While they were being tortured in this way, the protesters were also forced to sing the famous anti-dictatorship anthem “Kabar Ma Kyay Buu” over and over again and repeat protest slogans.

“They said, ‘What is it you chant and sing in marches and protests? How many fingers do you hold up?’ and beat us up. Anyone with a tattoo of Amay Suu was treated even worse,” he said, referring to Aung San Suu Kyi, long regarded as the leader of Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement.

“And they said, ‘You called us military dogs. Well, military dogs bite.’ And they just kept beating us,” the man said.

Around 10 soldiers made the men take off their shirts, put their hands behind their heads, and kneel down for one long, continuous session of beatings.

“If we raised our heads, they’d tell us to keep it down. They were afraid we’d see their faces. We kept falling down because we couldn’t stay on our knees while we were being beaten up. We were in a line and they would go back and forth, beating us constantly while we were in the room,” he said.

Of those arrested, only one woman who was injured by a rubber bullet was taken to a military hospital, while the rest were transported to the air force base near Myeik airport to be brutally tortured.

The majority of those arrested were students, who received the same treatment as the adults, even though the Myeik police told the soldiers not to be so hard on them, another detainee told Myanmar Now following his release.

“When we were arrested, there were police from Myeik who told the soldiers not to beat up the students. But the soldiers beat them anyway, saying that this was what they had come here all the way from Naypyitaw for,” he said.

A bystander is arrested by security forces in Yangon’s Tamwe township on March 8.

One arrested woman said the youth protesters were arrested after soldiers fired guns inside the houses they ran into to escape the crackdown.

Another woman who had been hiding inside a house said soldiers kicked down a door to get in and shot her repeatedly with rubber bullets from just three feet away.

“They kicked the door open, aimed and shot me twice in the neck,” she wrote on her Facebook page. “The bastards even arrested the homeowners,” she added.

“When they arrested the girls, they said, ‘We can do whatever we want with you. We can jail you for six months,’” one of detained girls told Myanmar Now.

“They hit one girl with the butt of a gun. She got four stitches. And another girl was kicked in the face. It’s all swollen up,” she said, adding that they were also taunted for their age.

“They said, ‘You’re pretty young. Do you even know what democracy is?’ And when we were released, the soldiers said, ‘Young people have nothing to do with politics. If you are involved again, we will put you in jail,’” the girl said.

“Once I recover, I’ll continue to protest wherever I can. We can’t lose this battle or give up,” said added defiantly.

“From the start of this dictatorship, they’ve done whatever they wanted to do. The law is whatever they say it is. I loathe this system. Even the internet is restricted. Not even Covid was this bad. The dictatorship is way worse,” she said.

According to the girl, around half of the detained protesters—29 men and six women—are still in custody and have been sentenced to one month in prison without charges.

However, Myanmar Now was unable to confirm the exact number of protesters who were arrested or how many remain in custody.

Among the arrested, some have been sent to Myeik prison. Others were released after they were bailed out by their parents, teachers, or ward administrators.

“We had to sign a release saying that we wouldn’t do this again. They said if we’re arrested again, all they will return to our families is our bodies,” said one man who vowed to continue fighting after he had recovered from his injuries.

“Once you get arrested, they will beat you up. Hard. They have no humanity,” he said.

“They can be so inhumane because they have weapons. We had to put our heads down because we don’t have weapons. I will never forgive and forget. My own parents have never hit me this much, this relentlessly. I’ve only seen this kind of torture in movies before. This is terrible. I’m not okay with it at all and we must win this revolution,” he added.

On 9 March 2021, woman human rights defender Hidme Markam was arrested by Chhattisgarhpolice on several charges, including charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA)anti-terrorism law in relation to her alleged involvement in Maoist activities. The woman humanrights defender was arrested during an event in Dantewada in the State of Chhattisharh to markInternational Working Women’s Day, and to protest the custodial torture and sexual violence bypolice against Adivasi women in the State. Later that day, following her arrest, Hidme Markamappeared before a Magistrate and was remanded for 14 days in Jagadalapur prison. Hidme Markam is an Adivasi woman human rights defender advocating for indigenous rights,against police and state violence, and the impact of mining in the State of Chhattisgarh. She is theconvenor of the Jail Bandi Rihai Committee, a platform which advocates for the release ofthousands of Adivasi persons, particularly youths, criminalized and branded as Naxals and held inpre-trial detention. Hidme Markam is an anti-mining campaigner, focusing on projects led by largecorporations such as Adani Pvt Ltd., which threaten to destroy a sacred Adivasi hill, considered alocal deity by the community. She also campaigns against the detrimental ecological impact ofmining for the local area, resulting in the degradation of land and large bodies of water, and thedestruction of forests in the region. The woman human rights defender has also criticised theexpanding presence of military, police and para-military in the State. In 2019, she participated in apublic campaign against the establishment of a police camp in Potali by the Special Task Force andDistrict Reserve Guards. Advocating for the promotion of women’s rights and against physical andsexual violence against women by police and military officers is central to Hidme Markam’s work.Women in the State, especially from Adivasi communities, have been disproportionately affected byviolence and discrimination by officials. On 9 March, Hidme Markam participated in an event at Sameli, Dantewada to mark InternationalWorking Women's Day and to commemorate the death of two young women, one of whom wasconfirmed to have died whilst in police custody, in Chhattisgarh. The two women were reportedlysubjected to torture and sexual violence by officials whilst detained. Police officers arrested thewoman human rights defender at the event where approximately 300 villagers, community leadersand other women human rights defenders from the Jail Bandi Rihai Committee and ChhattisgarhMahila Adhikar Manch were present. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate also witnessed the arrest,having arrived at the event to engage with those attending. Fellow human rights defenders andcommunity members who attempted to oppose the woman human rights defenders arrest wereviolently pushed aside by the police officers. Multiple cases have been filed against Hidme Markamon charges under the regressive Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and others, a law that isroutinely used against human rights defenders in India response to their legitimate human rightsactivities. The exact charges against Hidme Markam are not yet known, and she remains inJagadalapur prison, and has been allowed access to her lawyer since her arrest.The woman human rights defender has engaged directly with high ranking state officials includingthe Chief Minister, Governor and Superintendent of Police of Chhattisgarh to seek redress, realisebasic fundamental rights and protection from harm for local communitiesaffected by the miningactivities in the region. She has worked peacefully with local authorities to address violationsagainst these vulnerable and oppressed communities, and represent the voices of members of thecommunities. Her arrest is in direct reprisal for her work, challenging powerful forces within theState, such as police, military and corporate interests. As a result of this work, the woman humanrights defender has faced threats and harassment in the past, culminating in her arrest on 9 March. Front Line Defenders condemns the arrest of woman human rights defender Hidme Markam as itbelieves she is being targeted as a result of her human rights work, advocating for the protection ofthe rights of Adivasi communities, especially Adivasi women in Chhattisgarh. Not only her arrest,but also the decision to carry out the arrest during an event marking the custodial torture of andsexual violence against two young Adivasi women, is particularly concerning. Front Line Defendersreiterates its concern regarding the use of the UAPA against Hidme Markam and other humanrights defenders in India, aimed at silencing them and their efforts to promote and protect humanrights in the country.

On 8 March, the criminal court ordered the detention pending trial of Panusaya Sitthijirawattanakul, Jatupat Boonbattararaksa and Panupong Jadnok, leading figures in the pro-democracy protests, on sedition, royal defamation and several other charges. Piyarat Chongtep, leader of the We Volunteer protest guard group also detained for criminal organization

The first 3 reported along with another 14 people as scheduled on 8 March morning to be charged over the 19-20 September 2020 protests at Thammasat University and Sanam Luang. In total, they were charged with sedition, organizing more than 10 people to cause disorder, unlawful procession, emergency decree, vandalism and destroying antiquity site. Only the 3 had additional charge on royal defamation. 14 were allowed bail.

There were actually 15 people summoned to the court in this set of lawsuit. Only 14 were able to made to the court as the another one, Chaiamorn ‘Ammy’ Kaewwiboonpan has already been detained in prison.

Piyarat was arrested along with another 47 We Volunteer (WeVo) members by a SWAT police team who used force and did not produce an arrest warrant on 6 March prior to the protest at the judicial court complex. All but Piyarat were allowed bail. The WeVo case process is still in the police stage.

Movement supporters expressed disappointment and anger after bail was again refused by gathering at the Victory Monument on the evening of 8 March to protest. They asked people to dress in black as a symbolic show of resistance before dispersing at around 21.00.

Amnesty International released a statement claming that the mass prosecutions, amount to 382 protest leaders and demonstrators in 207 cases since 2020, tantamount to systematic suppression of freedom.

“It is profoundly worrying that the Thai authorities are systematically prosecuting a large number of protest leaders and demonstrators. In certain cases, the suspects may face up to 15 years of imprisonment. This is a severe and disproportionate punishment. Given the normally protracted period of trial, the prosecution of dissenters or critics of the government is being weaponized to silence and retaliate against those who dare to challenge the state power.” said Piyanut Kotsan, Director of Amnesty International.

“Mass prosecutions and denial of bail demonstrate how the justice process is being used as a tool to brazenly attack the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. People are entitled to legitimate rights to express themselves and participate in activities concerning social issues.

“The Thai authorities must stop treating critics as if they are criminals or a threat to national security. They must be released and the charges against them must be immediately dropped in the condition where there is an insufficient evidence under international criminal standard.” said Piyanut.

The detentions increase the number of pro-democracy protesters detained pending trial over demonstrations since the beginning of 2020 demanding the resignation of the prime minister and his cronies, constitutional amendments and monarchy reform.

As of 8 March, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that 18 people are now detained pending trial:

7 leading figures of Ratsadorn, one of the protest organizing groups: Anon Nampa, Parit Chiwarak, Patiwat Saraiyaem, Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, Panusaya Sitthijirawattanakul, Jatupat Boonbattararaksa and Panupong Jadnok. The first 4 have been detained since 9 February. 5 people who have been charged with damage to police vehicles in October 2020: Nathanon Chaimahabut, Thawat Sukprasoet, Sakchai Tangchitsadudi, Somkhit Tosoi and Chaluai Ekasak. They have been detained since 24 February. Chaiamorn ‘Ammy’ Kaewwiboonpan, lead singer of the The Bottom Blues band, detained for allegedly burning a portrait of King Rama X in front of Klong Prem Central Prison. Parinya ‘Port’ Cheewinkulpathom, a member of the self-exiled band ‘Faiyen’, charged under the lèse majesté law over his Facebook post in 2016 and detained since 6 March. 3 people detained since 29 January for allegedly throwing a homemade ‘pingpong’ bomb at the protest at Samyan Mitrtown on 10 January. . Piyarat Chongtep, arrested on 6 March and detained 2 days later. TLHR also reported that 5 people have been sentenced to prison after being found guilty of lèse majesté:

Anchan, sentenced on 19 January 2021 to 43 years. Wichai, sentenced on 24 December 2015 to 30 years and 60 months by a military court. Burin, sentenced on 30 April 2016 to 10 years and 16 months by a military court. Pratin, sentenced on 23 November 2015 to 8 years and 4 months. Prapan, sentenced on 11 May 2021 to 2 years.

Three anti-government leaders have been moved from Bangkok Remand Prison to Thon Buri Remand Prison, where they are being held in quarantine.

Corrections Department chief Ayut Sinthoppan said on Tuesday that Panupong “Mike’’ Jadnok, Jatupat “Pai Dao Din’’ Boonpattararaksa and Piyarat “Toto’’ Chongthep were transferred to Thon Buri on Monday to ease overcrowding at Bangkok Remand Prison.

Prison officials took the three suspects for records and health checks before taking them to the prison’s reception centre for 14-day quarantine as part of Covid-19 prevention measures.

The suspects were put in separate detention rooms. However, there were other prisoners in their rooms, the department chief said.

Mr Panupong and Mr Jatupat are charged with lese majeste and other offences and Mr Piyarat with violating the emergency decree. All charges stem from their roles in anti-government rallies. They have been denied bail

During their trial, prison officials from Bangkok Remand Prison would go to Thon Buri and then escort the defendants to the court, Mr Ayut said.

Asked if there were any worries about supporters of the protest leaders gathering at Thon Buri Remand Prison, he said there was tight security in the area around the prison 24 hours a day.

Prison authorities were not allowing the suspects to have visitors, because they were quarantined under Covid-19 measures, he said.

Another protest leader Panusaya “Rung’’ Sithijirawattanakul had been sent to the Central Women's Correctional Institution, the department chief said.

Soraya Rit-aram, director of the women's prison, said on Tuesday that Ms Panusaya was also in 14-day quarantine. Only lawyers were allowed to visit her, Ms Soraya said.

Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin on Tuesday confirmed he has plans to expand the Bangkok prison compound for political prisoners, to ease overcrowding when relatives and fellow demonstrators come visiting.

However, he had to look further into the details first.

At many protest sites in Yangon, security forces broke up demonstrations using teargas and stun grenades.

Protesters once again avoided confrontations with a cat and mouse strategy, retreating when security forces approached but gathering again whenever they had the chance.

Elsewhere in Myanmar, things were more violent.

Myitkyina, Kachin

Security forces also used stun grenades and tear gas while attacking protesters in front of the Saint Francis Xavier Catholic church. At least ten people were arrested and five severely injured in the attack, he added.

Myitkyina residents sought to avoid being attacked by organizing different protest columns around the town as security forces cracked down on the demonstration at the church.

“When tensions rose between the security forces and the protesters in front of the church, we organized another protest column at another area. But they focused on cracking down on the group in front of the church,” another organizer said.

Mandalay

A security forces truck rammed into protesters who were fleeing from a crackdown on motorbikes near 57th Street in Mandalay on Monday morning, injuring at least 6 people.

Two of them – Mya Thway Chel, 22, and Han Lin Aung, 15 – are in a critical condition, according to a volunteer rescue team.

We are still gathering more details about the incident.

Pyapon, Ayeyarwaddy About 100 anti-coup protesters, including school teachers and young people, were arrested during the crackdown, he said.

Pyapon residents rallied in the town to demand their release, and security forces began releasing 10 people at a time starting from 3pm.

Htilin, Magway

Six other people were injured in the attack. Three of them were shot with live bullets and three with rubber bullets.