Nationalist monks sentenced to 1.5 years in prison for anti-government protest

A court in Mandalay’s Chan Myay Thazi Township has sentenced six nationalist monks who led an anti-government sit-in protest in early August to 18 months in prison with hard labour.

Wednesday’s sentencing came on charges under the Penal Code’s article 505(b), which covers incitement.

Acting on an order from the Mandalay regional government, police on 5 August made a pre-dawn raid of the protest camp set up by several nationalist monks and laymen in the compound of Sasana 2500 Beikman, near the well-known Mahamuni Pagoda in Chan Mya Thazi Township.

The monks were subsequently charged with the 505(b) offence, which is punishable by up to two years in prison.

Protest participants had accused the government of failing to protect the national interest, and criticised the administration’s handling of national security-related issues.