On Tuesday, Myanmar student representatives reported 14 students being detained and charged with offences of up to two years in jail for giving out anti-government and anti-military pamphlets.
The campaign criticising the government and the military began early September. Pamphlets containing slogans such as “dictatorship must fail” and “oppose murderous fascism” were handed out by students in towns and cities across Myanmar.
Student protests also demanded authorities to restore internet in the western state of Rakhine, where access to the internet has been curbed as Myanmar soldiers fight ethnic insurgents who want greater autonomy.
Police, on the other hand, stated that they did not have details of any arrests. No government official comments came in after as well.
All Burma Federation of Students Unions (ABFSU), representing voices of students across Myanmar, along with Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) and New York-based Human Rights Watch, reported the arrests and charges.
ABFSU lead the pro-democracy protests for the first civilian government in half a century coming to power. Weeks before a Nov. 8 election, which ABFSU had called a boycott for, many of ABFSU members were arrested.
According to reports by ABFSU, 14 students had been arrested in raids on their homes or universities since mid-September. ABFSU also said that around a dozen other students were in hiding.
The Myanmar student campaign representatives reported that some students were charged with penal codes carrying a maximum two-year prison sentence, while others were slapped with charges of unlawful protest, carrying a three-month prison sentence.
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced and dozens killed due to the conflict in Rakhine that flared in early 2019. The United Nations human rights chief has stated that the abuses on civilians due to the conflict may amount to war crimes. Myanmar has denied these accusations.