Myanmar courts hand down up to 37-year terms to election-boycott protesters

In Mandalay, Myanmar courts convicted nine participants in a December 3 flash protest that demanded a boycott of the recent election, imposing prison terms ranging from 27 to 37 years. Eight of the sentenced, among them prominent figure Htet Myat Aung, were given the maximum 37-year term under the country's electoral law and counter-terrorism legislation; the ninth received 27 years under the counter-terrorism law. The demonstration had urged citizens to reject the vote, abolish the military conscription law and release political prisoners detained after the 2021 coup. spokesperson May Hnin of the Anti-Junta Forces Coordination Committee-Mandalay said the group will not appeal, viewing the process as a tool of intimidation by the junta.

The military-backed administration has not publicly responded. The election law, introduced by the previous military regime, carries penalties up to death for disrupting elections, and the Union Solidarity and Development Party claimed a majority in the contested poll. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners reports over 31,000 arrests since the coup, with more than 14,000 people still detained.