Myanmar: A letter of solidarity to Wai Moe Naing
28 November: In a powerful message of solidarity, writer and academic Michelle Aung Thin has written an open letter to imprisoned writer, activist and PEN Myanmar member Wai Moe Naing, who is currently serving a 54-year prison sentence on trumped up charges connected to his peaceful expression in opposition to the junta rule. The letter has been translated into Burmese with support from May Kyel Winn, translator and Executive Assistant at the Australia Myanmar Institute.
Further information on Wai Moe Naing’s unjust imprisonment can be found below this letter. PEN International considers Wai Moe Naing’s long-term imprisonment to be a blatant violation of his right to a fair trial and illustrative of the military junta’s willingness to use Myanmar’s legal system as a means to further its repression of dissenting voices.
Note: This letter was originally published in the 2023 edition of the PEN Melbourne Journal, which is available to download here.
Background:
Wai Moe Naing is a writer, activist, and member of PEN Myanmar. He began writing as a student, with his first short story being published in Teen Magazine at the age of 13. His writing has since been published in several literary outlets, including Khit Yanantthit Magazine and Pae Tin Tharn Journal.
Prior to the military coup in February 2021, Wai Moe Naing had already developed a reputation as a committed non-violent activist due to his long-standing involvement in student unions and youth groups, which included his affiliation with the Peacock Generation, a satirical poetry troupe who had several of its members detained in 2019 for allegedly criticising the military during a performance.
In the immediate aftermath of the military coup, Wai Moe Naing rose to prominence as a leader of the anti-coup protest movement and was among those who popularised the idea of banging pots and pans as a non-violent act of resistance to the military junta’s rule.
Wai Moe Naing was arrested on 15 April 2021 by junta forces after they reportedly used an unmarked vehicle to ram Wai Moe Naing while he was driving on a moped as part of a protest rally in the Monywa district, central Myanmar. When he tried to escape on foot, a group of armed men disembarked and attacked him and a female protestor before detaining them both.
On 12 August 2022, Wai Moe Naing was found guilty of multiple counts of incitement under section 505(A) of Myanmar’s Penal Code, which has been routinely used by the military junta to target critics of the regime. Following his conviction, Wai Moe Naing was initially sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment. According to reports, Wai Moe Naing did not appeal the court’s ruling, stating that the allegations were not committed by him, so there was nothing to appeal.
On 20 October 2022, Wai Moe Naing was sentenced to a further four years’ imprisonment on an additional count of incitement and for violating Article 25 of Natural Disaster Management Law, a charge that has been cynically used to clamp down on public rallies following the authorities' classification of COVID-19 as a 'natural disaster'.
On 5 April 2023, Wai Moe Naing was convicted of several charges, including rioting, robbery and incitement, and sentenced to a further 20 years’ imprisonment.
On 19 May 2023, Wai Moe Naing was convicted of high treason for his role as a protest leader and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment under Article 122 of Myanmar’s Penal Code, narrowly avoiding a potential death sentence. Already serving a sentence of 34 years’ imprisonment, this latest ruling results in a combined total of 54 years in prison.
A further trial on a remaining charge of murder remains. The charge is reported to relate to the killing of two police officers in the Monywa district, but no evidence has emerged that links Wai Moe Naing to the crime. Wai Moe Naing’s friends and family have rejected the accusation of murder on the strongest possible terms.
As reported previously by PEN International, Wai Moe Naing’s legal representatives have been targeted with detention and arrest warrants, with others now unwilling to represent him out of fear of retaliation from the military junta, raising ongoing concerns over Wai Moe Naing’s ability to defend himself according to international fair trial norms.
For further information please contact Ross Holder, Head of Asia/ Pacific Region at PEN International. Email: ross.holder@pen-international.org