Myanmar activists handed 37‑year jail terms

Courts in Myanmar have sentenced nine activists to lengthy prison terms after they staged a protest calling for a boycott of last December’s elections. Eight of them, including prominent campaigner Htet Myat Aung, received 37‑year sentences, while a ninth was jailed for 27 years.

The verdicts were delivered by two courts in Mandalay, the country’s second‑largest city, according to the Anti‑Junta Forces Coordination Committee. The activists were convicted under electoral and counterterrorism laws, which carry some of the harshest penalties introduced by the military‑backed government.

The group had organised a flash protest on 3 December, urging the public to reject the polls, scrap military conscription and release political prisoners detained since the army seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in 2021. They were arrested within days.

Spokesperson May Hnin said the activists would not appeal, believing the sentences would not be overturned. She accused the authorities of using the convictions to instil fear and tighten their grip on power. “These sentences are proof that a government that came to power through a sham election can never establish a federal democratic system,” she said.

The military‑backed administration has not commented publicly. The election law, enacted last year, allows punishments up to the death penalty for anyone opposing or disrupting elections. More than 200 people were charged before the December vote, which critics said was neither free nor fair.

Since the 2021 coup, Myanmar has been engulfed in conflict. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners reports that over 31,000 people have been arrested, with more than 14,000 still in detention.

The harsh sentences highlight the junta’s determination to silence dissent and underline the risks faced by those who continue to challenge its rule.

-2026-07-30