Mizzima

Myanmar rapper Byuhar was sentenced to 20 years in prison on 23 August for criticising the junta over electricity blackouts on social media.

His father, the renowned composer Naing Myanmar, said: "I wasn't present in the courtroom. Like everyone else, I heard about the verdict. He received a 20-year sentence.”

Following a long blackout in Yangon, on 23 May, the rapper posted a video to social media criticising the junta’s management of the power supply, comparing it unfavourably to the way power was supplied under the NLD government.

Byuhar was then arrested at his home in North Dagon Township on the night of 24 May and held incommunicado for a week.

According to Byuhar’s wife, Khin Chit Kyi, he was imprisoned for violating sections 505 (a) and 124 (a) of the penal code.

According to a legal expert the 20-year prison sentence was deliberately vindictive. They explained that originally Byuhar had only been prosecuted for violation Section 505 (a) which carries a maximum sentence of three years. It was only later that charges were also bought under Section 124 (a), a violation of which carries a far longer maximum sentence of 20 years.

They said, “The Military Council’s decision to charge him with the most severe section [Section 124 (a)] complicated the case. The penalties associated with that section are harsh. This situation should not have occurred. Using Article 124 did not balance the crime with the punishment.”

Byuhar’s father, Naing Myanmar is a famous Burmese musician. During the 1988 uprising his song, The World Will Not End, became an anthem that resonated with the student activists who spearheaded the uprising. Since the February 2021 coup, the song has again become popular. 

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), between 1 February 2021, and 23 August 2023, 24,410 people have been arrested in Myanmar. Out of those, 19,895 remain in detention, and 7,175 have already been sentenced to prison terms.