Case History: Su Su Nway
On 8 April 2016, the Tharawaddy court dismissed the cases of 69 student human rights defenders and their supporters, who had been on trial since the police crackdown on peaceful student protests in 2015.
Su Su Nway is a labour and land rights defender and chairperson of Myanmar's Farmers Union. In 2005 she filedacomplaint against the government'slong-standing practice of forced labour, which led to the successful prosecution of several government representatives. Subsequently, she was sentenced to 18 months in prison on charges of “using abusive language against the authorities”. Following her release from prison in June 2006, she took an active part in the protests against the government in August 2007 and was sentenced to another 8 years in Hkamti prison. Since her release under amnesty in October 2011, Su Su Nway has been involved in the defence of labour rights.
On December 9 Su Su Nway appeared in court in Pyin Oo Lwin facing a charge under Article 18 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law for a protest she organised a year ago in Pyin Oo Lwin against land grabs by business companies, who also tortured local farmers who originally owned the land. She was arrested on 6 December while on her way to attend a workshop on issues facing local farmers. Su Su Nway had returned to Pyin Oo Lwin numerous times in the past year but the police never took action to detain her.
This is not the first time Su Su Nway has been charged by the authorities. In July 2015, Su Su Nway was charged with trespassing in Pegu’s Intagaw Township, reportedly for assisting local farmers. The farmers claimed the army had confiscated around 5,000 acres of their land. She was detained by police as she was travelling past the town, and later sentenced to 15 days in prison.
On 23 July 2015, police arrested human rights defender Ms Su Su Nway while she was travelling to Yangon by bus. She is currently being held at the Bago Township Prison.
Su Su Nway was arrested on charges of trespassing under Article 447 of Myanmar’s Penal Code on 23 July 2015 while she was on her way back from Bago, where she has been assisting localfarmers in land-grabbing cases. Approximately 30 police officers stopped the bus on which she was travellingand requested the bus driver to bring Su Su Nwayto a nearby police station. She waslater brought**to the Inn Daw Kaw Court in Bago District for a bail hearing. However, she refused to apply for bail and was later transferred to the Bago Township Prison. Her next court hearing is scheduled to take place on29th July. She faces a maximum sentence of three months in prison.
It is believed that her arrest is related to a case which was opened against the
human rights defender in June, after she had visited a military compound in Bago Division without obtaining prior permission. She subsequently received a summons to appear in court. Su Su Nway had previously travelled to the area several times to examine the farmers' claims and liaise with authorities on their behalf and had not faced legal action or harassment until late last year, when authorities warned her not to enter the disputed property. The compound is located in a disputed area, which, according to local farmers, was illegally occupied by the military.
Colleagues of Su Su Nway view her arrest within the context of a hardened stance taken by the authorities ahead of the upcoming general elections in November 2015.
