Op-Ed: Myanmar courts crack down on dissent

By AUBREY BELFORD AND MINZAYAR OO, 16 September 2015
Student activist Nanda Sit Aung talks to his family and friends during a lunch break at a mass trial of the student protesters at Tharrawaddy court, Tharrawaddy, Bago, August 25, 2015 [photo credit: Reuters]
Student activist Nanda Sit Aung talks to his family and friends during a lunch break at a mass trial of the student protesters at Tharrawaddy court, Tharrawaddy, Bago, August 25, 2015 [photo credit: Reuters]
<p>Every Tuesday, the moss-covered redbrick courthouse in Tharrawaddy erupts into activity for a weekly ritual: the mass trial of student protesters.</p><p>Under heavy guard at a session in late August, 81 students faced charges related to protests that were crushed by baton-wielding police in March.</p><p>They are among a growing number of people caught in a crackdown on dissent as Myanmar heads towards a historic election in November, when the military-backed ruling party will compete with the ascendant National League for Democracy (NLD) party of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in the first free national vote in 25 years.</p>
Read the full article here: Reuters

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