‘ATROCIOUS’

Anger After Myanmar's Military Junta Executes Four Pro-Democracy Activists

Nation’s first judicial executions since 1988 draw international condemnation.

Myanmar’s military junta announced Monday that it had executed four pro-democracy activists, drawing worldwide condemnation and raising fears for the fate of dozens of other activists convicted of similar “terror acts.” The Southeast Asian nation’s first judicial executions in more than 30 years were announced by the official Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper and come just 18 months after the military seized power in a coup and unleashed a brutal political crackdown. The four included Phyo Zeya Thaw, a former hip-hop star and lawmaker in Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party, and activist Kyaw Min Yu, better known as Ko Jimmy. The four, all convicted in closed-door trials before a military court, are thought to have been hanged. News of their death prompted condemnation from UN figures and regional leaders. Amnesty International warned more than 100 people are on death row in Myanmar after similar convictions.