A growing chorus of dismay has greeted the announcement by Myanmar’s military junta at the beginning of this month that it was going ahead with plans to sentence to death and execute anti-coup activists.

Since the 2021 coup, 114 people have been sentenced to death for resisting the coup, according to the Institute for Strategy and Policy-Myanmar (ISP-Myanmar), those sentenced including two boys under the age of 18.

No executions have been carried out in Myanmar for over 30 years, though the law remains on the statute books and the death sentence was still passed by the courts prior to the coup.

While all lives matter, particular focus by Myanmar citizens and the international community is on two high-profile players who have fought against the State Administration Council (SAC) and for democracy in the Golden Land and are sentenced to death.

They are Phyo Zeya, a former National League for Democracy (NLD) MP and Thaw Kyaw Min Yu, better known as Ko Jimmy, an 88 Generation activist who had previously been imprisoned for his part in anti-government protests, most recently between 2007 and 2012.

According to media reports, on 18 November soldiers and police arrested Phyo Zeya Thaw, 41, during a raid on a housing complex in Yangon. A military court charged the former NLD legislator and hip-hop artist under the Counterterrorism Law and the Public Property Protection Act with leading deadly shootings on pro-military targets.

On 24 October 2021, soldiers arrested Ko Jimmy, 52, in Yangon’s North Dagon Township. The authorities had issued a warrant for his arrest on 13 February 2021, for allegedly inciting unrest and taking part in “terrorism”, both offenses under the Counterterrorism Law. The soldiers severely beat Ko Jimmy during his arrest and tortured him in custody, his family said.

In an announcement on 2 June 2022, the junta Deputy Minister for Information said that the two men and two others, Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw, who were convicted of killing an alleged military informant, had exhausted all avenues of appeal and would be hanged, but that no date had yet been set for their execution.

The junta’s assertion that there was no chance of a reprieve for the men and that they would be executed caused an international outcry. It prompted the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres to speak out, noting that the junta’s decision to execute the men violated Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states “Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person”, and says that everyone has the right to a public hearing and defence at an independent and impartial court. Similarly, the US government issued a statement, saying it strongly condemns the Burmese military regime’s reported plans to execute pro-democracy and opposition leaders, exemplifying the regime's disregard for human rights and the rule of law. They urged the release of all those who have been unjustly detained.

The French Embassy in Yangon also issued a statement condemning the death sentences and calling for the release of all arbitrarily detained people, the cessation of junta violence and the establishment of all-inclusive dialogue.

At this stage, it is unclear how and when the Myanmar junta will proceed with their threat against these pro-democracy players who have acted against the illegitimate government.

If the SAC wants to salvage its tattered international reputation, it is time to stand-down on its threat to execute these heroic players.