Myanmar Min Aung Hlaing accused of crimes against humanity Crimes Against Humanity News

Myanmar military leader Min Aung Hlaing has been accused of committing crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for overseeing the deadly crackdown on protesters and activists in the February 1 coup.

In a submission on Friday, the Myanmar Accountability Project (MAP) asked the Hague tribunal to open a criminal investigation into the “widespread and systematic use of torture as part of violent repression against the protest movement” in Southeast Asia.

A United Nations rapporteur in July stated the military government’s tactics against dissidents “as a gross terror campaign”.

“The leader of the illegal coup is criminally responsible for the horrific crimes committed by his subordinate security forces,” MAP Director Chris Gunness said in a statement.

“The prospects for a conviction are good and we believe the reasons for issuing an arrest warrant against Min Aung Hlaingen are absolute.”

At least 1,305 people have been killed since the coup, including more than 75 children, as a result of the crackdown on protests against the coup since Wednesday, according to the Association for the Support of Political Prisoners (AAPP), a death and death rights group. arrests. At least 10,756 people have been arrested.

The increasingly violent military response to the protests has also forced protesters to arm themselves, leading to more violence.

On Wednesday, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric warned of further bloodshed, with security forces accusing the villagers, including five children, of being shot in the Sagaing region and burning their bodies in revenge for the latest army attacks.

“We strongly condemn this violence and remind the military authorities in Myanmar of their obligations to ensure the security and protection of civilians in accordance with international law. Those responsible for this heinous act must be held accountable, “Dujarric said in his regular speech.

Social media posts on Thursday also denounced further violence, including the burning of houses and the shooting of at least one civilian in the state of Mon.

“Systematic and widespread torture”

Only a terrorist can carry out such beastly acts against his people.
⁇
Kyi myin daing municipality, Yangon https://t.co/8btsxH1y8B

– Yanghee Lee (@YangheeLeeSKKU) December 6, 2021

(Warning: Tweets show graphic content)

The MAP said the evidence of the violence gathered, as well as recent incidents, show that the use of torture in Myanmar is “widespread, systematic and a consequence of state policies.”

“This clearly meets the threshold for crimes against humanity,” the statement said.

“What is presented to our ICC establishes a strong case of criminal responsibility for these crimes, up to Min Aung Hlaing himself,” Gunness said.

MAP allegations The latest findings from the UN Independent Mechanism of Investigation (IIMM) in Myanmar have been backed by recent attacks on civilians. “Crimes against humanity”.

According to Nicholas Koumjian, head of the UN investigative body, more than 219,000 pieces of information have been gathered since the coup to support the accusations.

In a recent report to the Human Rights Council, he argued that “evidence shows that security forces act in a coordinated manner in different regions, systematically targeting specific categories of people, such as journalists and medical professionals.”

“More than ever, there is a need to end impunity,” Koumjian said.

In the first six weeks after the coup, UN investigators also found “an increase in violence and much more violent methods used to suppress protesters.”

“This was happening in different places at the same time, and it indicated to us that it would be logical to infer this from a central policy,” Koumjian said.

One such incident was reported in a Human Rights Watch report released earlier this month.

The report said that on March 14 in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, at least 65 protesters were scheduled to be killed and planned.

HRW said security forces deliberately surrounded it and used lethal force against the crowd demanding that Aung San Suu Kyi be restored to a democratically elected government.

The military said it was necessary to take power because of fraud in the November 2020 elections. But independent observers have not reported any evidence to support the claim.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won the election by a landslide.

The generals staged a coup before the new parliament sat down and Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested.

He was sentenced on Monday four years in prison in an undisclosed location, in a closed court after a trial, for various accusations dismissed as politically motivated. Hours later, the generals reduced the sentence to two years.