Social Activist Arrested and Detained without Charges

July 22, 2014

Accused of defecting from military training duty, Min Soe Myint Win was detained by Light Infantry Battalion No. 104 and investigated at military court on July 7, 2014. Although the military promised his release if found guilty, Min Soe Myint Win has yet to be charged with any wrongdoing and remains in detention.

The military informed Min Soe Myint Win’s wife, Mi Htay Htay Mon, that her husband would be tried on July 8^th, but Soe Myint Win has yet to be charged, as authorities do not know what articles to charge him with.

“What we want is that if my husband is a criminal, he should be charged quickly and should have a fair punishment. They (the military) told my husband that the trial would be on July 8, 2014. We went to the court [on] that day, but there was no judicial process. We want to end the trial quickly and want to live peacefully. Now my husband wasn’t punished but [is] still detained. We don’t know what will happen next. We are worrying about the final decision; we have to wait and see at the moment,” says Mi Htay Htay Mon.

Following her husband’s arrest, Mi Htay Htay Mon went to No. 76 Ohm Char Military Base, located in Mandalay, to check if her husband’s name was included on the list of current military soldiers.

“I made the check on June 9^th, and realized he wasn’t on the list, so I went back home. After two days, I was informed that they found Soe Myint Win on the list, so I replied [that] I would come [to Mandalay] to confirm the finding,” said Mi Htay Htay Mon.

Military authorities told Mi Htay Htay Mon that she should not return to Mandalay, but that they would inform her of confirmation by phone.

“A responsible military person told my husband that his name was found [on] the list,” said Mi Htay Htay Mon, “In order to bring my husband to the military court, they need his signature. If he refused to sign, they can’t proceed [with] the trial, so they asked my husband for his signature. My husband signed the paper as they told [him] the trial will start soon after that. After my husband signed the paper, they gave us an appointment and said the trial would be finalized on July 7, 2014, but nothing happened as they promised.”

Soe Myint Win used to be a soldier of No. 76 Ohm Chaw Military Base in Mandalay, but he did not, if fact, run away from the military, as his unit had been officially dissolved.

Soe Myint Win passed his military matriculation exam in 2002, and went on to join a Mudon-based Light Infantry Battalion in 2003. The following year, Soe Myint Win served as an assistant clerk for the Military Intelligence Supporting Base No. 1 in Rangoon. He was then transferred to LIB No. 76, and the Military Intelligence Service was dissolved in 2004.

When General Khin Nyunt was removed from power, the Military Intelligence Service was automatically dissolved. Soe Myint Win went to the military base and met with a sergeant of his unit to ask for official documents that legally allowed him to retired from military duty. According to Soe Myint Win, the sergeant replied that “You don’t need any official document. The Intelligence Force was already dissolved. Everyone has to go home” and the sergeant also supported him with fifteen thousand kyat for travel. At this point, Soe Myint Win realized that he had officially ended his military duty and returned home to Htaung Mam Village in 2005; he did not receive any contact from the military for three or four years following his release from duty.

Not only is Soe Myint Win being held without charges but, according to Mi Htay Htay Mon, authorities from LIB No. 104 intimidated Min Soe Myint Win with warnings that the more people that know about his case, the harder it would be to start his trial.

LIB No. 104 military officials have allowed Soe Myint Win to stay freely with their soldiers, so that if he runs away they would have a good reason to punish him, local reporters analyze.

Min Soe Myint Win, son of retired school principle U Shew Lin, lives in Htayng Mam Village, Mudon Township. He graduated with Burmese language and has organized and joined many empowerment workshop trainings in Mon and Karen States, and Pegu and Rangoon Divisions. Soe Myint Win currently works for local non-government organization Mya Sein Yaung, which has been granted 30 million kyat to initiate local development in Htaung Mam Village. Upon receiving the funds, Htaung Mam village administrator, U Hla Phay, who has no authority to manage the funds, but would like to change that, created a story to remove Soe Myint Win from his position within the organization. U Hla Phay accused Soe Myint Win of being a fugitive from the military, and bribed Captain Khin Maung Kyaw of LIB No. 565 to arrest him.

Min Soe Myint Win was arrested by LIB No. 565 on June 7, 2014, and has been detained since his arrest in LIB No. 104. Soe Myint Win is currently awaiting trial, regardless of the fact that he has yet to be officially charged with any violations.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News