Myanmar courts sentence activists up to 37 years over election boycott protest

Courts in Myanmar have sentenced nine activists to up to 37 years in prison for a protest against last December's elections, according to an activist groupBANGKOK -- Courts in Myanmar have sentenced nine activists to up to 37 years in prison for involvement in a protest calling for a boycott of the elections last December, an activist group said Wednesday.May Hnin, a spokesperson for the Anti-Junta Forces Coordination Committee-Mandalay, said eight members including prominent activist Htet Myat Aung were sentenced to 37 years on Tuesday by two courts in Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, after being convicted under the electoral law and counterterrorism Law.A ninth activist was sentenced to 27 years after being convicted under the counterterrorism law, she said.Htet Myat Aung and the others were arrested days after staging a flash protest in downtown Mandalay on Dec. 3 calling on the public to reject the elections, abolish the military conscription law and release political prisoners detained after the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021.The activists will not appeal the verdicts because they do not believe the sentences would be ...