(HRW) – Myanmar authorities should exonerate and release a former child soldier who spoke to journalists about his army experiences, Human Rights Watch said today. On March 28, 2018, the Dagon Seikkan Township Court sentenced Aung Ko Htwe to two years in prison with hard labor under penal code section 505(b), whose overbroad provisions have frequently been used to curtail freedom of expression. Myanmar security forces arrested Aung Ko Htwe on August 18, 2017, following an interview he gave to Radio Free Asia detailing his forced recruitment into the army in 2005 at age 14. A military officer thenfiled a complaint against him under section 505(b). Aung Ko Htwe faces up to three additional years in prison for allegedly desecrating Myanmar’s seal during the trial.
Myanmar: Quash Conviction of Former Child Soldier
New York, NY 10168
watchlist@watchlist.org
Watchlist is a fiscally sponsored project of United Charitable, a US-based 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization.
