Myanmar's Military Junta said on Monday it had executed four democracy activists accused of helping to carry out "terrorist acts", in the Southeast Asian nation's first executions since 1988, drawing widespread condemnation.
Sentenced to death in January in a closed trial, the four men had been accused of helping militias fight the army that seized power in a coup last year and unleashed a bloody crackdown on opponents. Previous executions in Myanmar have been carried out by hanging.
Myanmar's Government of National Unity, a shadow administration banned by the ruling military junta, condemned the executions and called for international action against the Myanmar junta. "Extremely saddened... we condemn the cruelty of the board..." NUG chairman's office spokesman Kyaw Zaw told Reuters in a message. "The world community must punish their cruelty."
Those executed include Kyaw Min Yu, a democracy figure better known as Jimmy, and former MP and former hip-hop artist Phyo Zeya Thaw, according to the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper. Kyaw Min Yu, 53, and Phyo Zeya Thaw, 41, an ally of Myanmar's deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, lost their appeals against the sentences in June. The other two executed were Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw.
"I am outraged by the news of the execution by the Myanmar Patriot Board and defenders of human rights and democracy," said Tom Andrews, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, in a statement.
Myanmar state media reported on Monday that the executions had taken place and the junta's spokesman, Zaw Min Tun, later confirmed them to Voice of Myanmar. Neither gave details about when the executions took place.
An activist group, the Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners (AAPP), said Myanmar's last judicial executions were in the late 1980s.
