She is known for being a close colleague of Aung San Suu Kyi. She was arrested at least two more times before she won election to the state parliament in 20, after which she was appointed state minister. Nan Khin Htwe Myin, a member of the party’s central executive committee, is a veteran pro-democracy activist who was first arrested in 1974 during a student protest under a previous military government. Virtually any conviction would prevent her from running in elections that the military-installed government has promised to hold by 2023. Protesters against the takeover who faced beatings, shootings and arrests have turned increasingly to armed resistance, and insurgents are active in many parts of the country.Īung San Suu Kyi is also being tried on corruption and other criminal charges that her supporters say were concocted to discredit her and legitimise the military’s seizure of power. Myanmar has been mired in violence and civil unrest since the military seized power. The second defendant, Nan Khin Htwe Myint, 67, former chief minister of Kayin state and a leading member of Aung San Suu Kyi’s political party, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on each of five charges, Zaw Min Hlaing said. On Tuesday, former Kayin state planning minister, Than Naing, was convicted by the state court of six corruption charges and given a 90-year prison term, including labour, lawyer Zaw Min Hlaing said.
Photograph: Fenster Family/AFP/Getty Images US journalist Danny Fenster faces additional terrorism and treason charges.