Myanmar military executes 4 activists: Report

The ruling military administration in Myanmar has executed four activists in what is believed to be the first capital punishment since 1988, a media report said on Monday.

Citing the state news outlet, Global News Light of Myanmar, the BBC report said that Phyo Zeya Thaw, a former National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker, writer-activist Ko Jimmy, Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw were executed as they "gave directives, made arrangements and committed conspiracies for brutal and inhumane terror acts".

The outlet said that the four were charged under the counter terrorism laws, but did not say how or when they were executed.

The executions were first announced by the military in June after they were handed the death sentence in January following closed-door trials, the BBC said.

The sister of Ko Jimmy, a veteran of a Burmese pro-democracy movement known for their activism against the country's military junta in the 1988 student uprisings, told the BBC that the families are yet to receive the bodies.

He was arrested in October last year after being accused of hiding weapons and ammunition.

Meanwhile, Phyo was a close ally of former de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is currently in solitary confinement after she was arrested in the wake of the military coup in February 2021 that overthrew her elected NLD government.

The 41-year-old former hip-hop artist was often slammed by the junta for his anti-military lyrics. He was arrested in November 2021 for alleged anti-terror offences, said the BBC.

Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw were sentenced to death for killing a woman who was an alleged informer for the junta.

The shadow National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG), which was formed in opposition to the coup, has condemned the killings, saying they were "extremely shocked and saddened".

It comprises pro-democracy figures, representatives of armed ethnic groups and members of the NLD.

They urged the international community to "punish (the) murderous military junta for their cruelty and killings".

The 2021 coup was staged after the military alleged massive voting fraud in the November 2020 general elections, which saw the NLD win a majority of seats in both houses of Parliament.

It triggered widespread demonstrations and Myanmar's military has cracked down on pro-democracy protesters, activists and journalists, according to rights groups.

Suu Kyi is one of the 14,847 people to have been arrested by the junta since February 2021, and at least 2,114 others killed by the military, according to the monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.