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IBAHRI to review Myanmar political trials

The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has formed a panel of international lawyers to review the trials of Myanmar’s former leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her ally U Win Myint.

The military took power in the country in February, removing Ms Suu Kyi’s elected government.

In a statement last week, IBAHRI said that its panel would conduct a paper review to determine whether the trial was adhering to due process and the rule of law. This would be done through “reliable sources” in Myanmar, it said.

The body said that, while it would have preferred to conduct a full observation through an independent observer in the court, the panel had not been granted access to the court proceedings.

IBAHRI had written to the country’s Union Supreme Court, asking for access to either a livestream or a recording of the proceedings.

Due process

The panel is to conduct an independent assessment of the trials, and be signatory to periodic written reports detailing how the trials conform to due process requirements and internationally accepted norms and principles of natural justice.

Charges against U Win Myint include breach of the constitution, while charges against Aung San Suu Kyi include breaking state secrecy law, sedition, the illegal import and use of walkie-talkies with her bodyguards, and the breaking of COVID-19 regulations. 

“Reports already suggest that their full pre-trial rights have not been granted,” said IBAHRI.