Myanmar court sentence 19 people to death for killing a military officer associate

A TV station affiliated with the Myanmar military reported Friday night that 19 people had been sentenced to death by a military court for the death of their companions the previous day. This may well mark the first death sentence imposed by the military government after the military coup in February. According to MRTV, on March 27, the 19 people were robbed and tortured after their motorcycles were parked in Yangon, the town of Okarapa in the northern part of the country’s largest city. The town is one of several townships where the Yangon military government declared martial law in March. The report pointed out that of the 19 people, only 2 were detained, and the rest are still at large. March 27 is the country’s Armed Forces Day. More than 100 people were killed by security forces throughout Myanmar. This was the deadliest protest day since the February 1 coup d’état. Despite severe crackdowns on anti-coup protesters, the military was still unable to quell the demonstrations. The Political Prisoners Association of the Thai Association of Human Rights Organizations, which monitors the situation in Myanmar, said that as of Friday, the military’s bloody campaign against protesters had caused 618 deaths.