Sister of former child soldier surrenders

20 June 2019
Sister of former child soldier surrenders
Former child soldier Aung Ko Htay outside court. Photo: Mizzima

The elder sister of jailed Myanmar former child soldier Aung Ko Htway surrendered to a Yangon courthouse Wednesday morning after spending 18 months in hiding to face defamation charges by police for staging a public protest in 2018 that called for her brother’s release, RFA reported.

Police raided the family’s home on Tuesday night, carrying an arrest warrant and hoping to nab Nay Zar Tun, her younger sister Theinggi told RFA’s Myanmar Service.

Aung Ko Htway, 28, is serving two years of hard labor after he was convicted in March 2018 of public incitement under Section 505(b) of the country’s Penal Code for describing his abduction and forced military service in an interview with RFA.