The Stateless Rohingya Blog

By Bill O’Toole Myanmar Times October 9, 2014 Less than two weeks after being convicted of rioting in a Sittwe court, Muslim community leader U Kyaw Hla Aung was released under a presidential amnesty on October 7. U Kyaw Hla Aung was arrested on July 15, 2013, following a clash in the Baw Du Pha IDP camp when a group of young Muslims refused to fill out an immigration department form that identified them as “Bengali”. The situation escalated to the point where the youths allegedly attacked several immigration police. Shortly afterward, U Kyaw Hla Aung was arrested and accused of inciting the group to attack the police. Many observers said the charges were directly related to U Kyaw Hla Aung’s longstanding political activism and legal assistance on behalf of detained Muslims in Rakhine State. While 3073 prisoners were freed on October 7, Yangon-based attorney U Robert Sann Aung said U Kyaw Hla Aung was one of just a handful who could be described as a “politic...

By   Burma Campaign UK January 09, 204 Kyaw Hla Aung is a human rights defender and a Rohingya community leader from Rakhine State who promotes minority rights in the country. On 15th July 2012, he was taken from his home in Sittwe. After his arrest, he was charged with three different counts, and transferred to Sittwe Prison. When his trial began on 14 August 2013, four more counts were added to his case. He has now been charged with seven different counts, including under 505(b) of Statements Conducting to Public Mischief. The charges are politically motivated and his trial continues at Sittwe Court. He is suffering from high blood pressure and arthritis. As part of the No Political Prisoner Left Behind campaign, Burma Campaign UK is highlighting a case of a political prisoner every month to draw attention to the hundreds of political prisoners who could still be in jail. The political prisoner for this month is Kyaw Hla Aung. Thein Sein lied to David Came...

By Bill O'Toole  Myanmar Times   August 11, 2013 Lawyer and activist U Kyaw Hla Aung is due to appear in a Rakhine State court this week, in what will be his second hearing since being arres ted on July 15. U Kyaw Hla Aung, who identifies as Rohingya, is accused of inciting a protest in a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) earlier this year. His supporters, both inside and outside Myanmar, say the charges are false and a pretence to silence the prominent Sittwe-based activist. “He’s a human rights defender peacefully trying to help his community,” said Jim Lougren of the Frontline Defenders organisation, which works to protect activists in oppressed nations and communities. “It’s effectively a case of arbitrary detention ... We would argue that this case is without merit.” Since being arrested U Kyaw Hla Aung has not had access to a lawyer or been able to contact his family. He has been charged with rioting armed with a deadly weapon, enco...

By Bill O'Toole  Myanmar Times August 7, 2013 Lawyer and activist U Kyaw Hla Aung faced a closed court in Rakhine State on July 31, the first time he has left prison since being arrested on July 15. U Kyaw Hla Aung, who identifies as Rohingya, is accused of inciting a protest in a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) earlier this year. His supporters, both inside and outside Myanmar say the charges are false and a pretence to silence the prominent Sittwe-based activist. “He's a human rights defender peacefully trying to help his community,” said Jim Lougren of the Frontline Defenders organisation, which works to protect activists in oppressed nations and communities. “It's effectively a case of arbitrary detention...we would argue that this case is without merit.” Since being arrested U Kyaw Hla Aung has not had access to a lawyer or been able to contact his family. He has been charged with rioting armed with a deadly weapon, encouraging person...

U Kyaw Hla Aung, 73, an activist/lawyer (photo/IRIN) By  Frontline Defenders    July 25, 2013 On 31 July 2013, human rights defender and community leader Mr Kyaw Hla Aung will appear at the district court in Sittwe to hear charges against him. Kyaw Hla Aung is a human rights defender and community leader who has been working to promote and defend the rights of minority Rohingyas in Arakan state. The human rights defender is a respected community leader having served as a Sittwe district civil court clerk and a former staff member of Medicine Sans Frontiers. On 15 July, Kyaw Hla Aung was arrested by police at his home in Thet Kae Pyin in Sittwe and has been arbitrarily detained without charge at the Police Station 1 in Sittwe since then. The human rights defender is currently being held for questioning and does not have access to his family members and his lawyer. The arrest was reportedly related to the “population verification exercise” which was con...