![]() ![]() Lawyers also reported ill treatment or torture of detained colleagues. In some cases, the junta authorities appear to have targeted lawyers in reprisal for representing activists charged with sedition, incitement, or terrorism. All 19 lawyers said they had experienced intimidation and surveillance by junta authorities. Human Rights Watch interviewed 19 defense lawyers and 7 legal advisers to international nongovernmental organizations working inside the Myanmar military junta’s special courts system. Despite the systematic impediments imposed by the military authorities, lawyers still try to defend the human rights of those arrested.ĭownload the Summary & Recommendations in Burmese Military tribunals hold summary trials in townships where martial law has been declared. The junta has created “special courts,” closed courts inside prisons to fast-track political cases. Myanmar’s already tenuous justice system has declined drastically, failing to uphold basic due process rights. Since the coup, the junta has arrested and detained thousands of anti-coup activists and critics and prosecuted many for incitement and terrorism in summary trials that do not meet international fair trial standards. “The military authorities should immediately release all those arbitrarily detained and stop harassing lawyers.” “At every turn, Myanmar’s lawyers have faced systematic, junta-imposed obstacles and restrictions impeding their work,” said Manny Maung, Myanmar researcher at Human Rights Watch. At least 32 lawyers have been arrested and placed in pretrial detention with little evidence supporting the charges against them, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. ![]() ![]() The 39-page report, “‘Our Numbers are Dwindling’: Myanmar’s Post-Coup Crackdown on Lawyers,” examines the junta authorities’ pattern of harassment, surveillance, arrests, and in some cases torture of lawyers since the coup, particularly those taking on political cases. (Bangkok) – The Myanmar military junta has threatened and harassed lawyers trying to defend the rights of protesters and others arbitrarily detained since the Februcoup, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Concerned governments should impose targeted sanctions against junta members implicated in abuses, seek referral of Myanmar to the International Criminal Court, and adopt a global arms embargo. Myanmar’s junta should urgently restore civilian democratic rule.The junta has created closed courts inside prisons that violate fair trial rights to fast-track politically sensitive cases. The military authorities impose systematic obstacles and restrictions on lawyers, impeding their work.Those detained have been tortured and mistreated. Lawyers in Myanmar defending anti-coup protesters and critics have faced threats, arrest, and prosecution by the military junta.Lawyers in Myanmar protesting the military coup in Mandalay, February 15, 2021. ![]()
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