Judge drops unlawful associations case against ‘Rambo’ actor Ko Min Htay

Ko Min Htay, second from the right, sits with friends at the Banmaw police station hours before a judge decides to set him free after nine months in prison. Photo: Facebook / Thet Hmu
Ko Min Htay, second from the right, sits with friends at the Banmaw police station hours before a judge decides to set him free after nine months in prison. Photo: Facebook / Thet Hmu

Film star and militia leader Ko Min Htay is finally free after eight months in prison after a Kachin State judge dismissed a case brought against him by a Myanmar military officer under a controversial law that limits freedom of association.

The All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) leader was arrested on December 28, 2016, while driving along the Bhamo-Lweje in Kachin State. Defense witnesses in his case said he was on his way back to the ABSDF’s northern headquarters, where he works, from preparatory meetings for the 21st Century Panglong Conference at the organization’s central headquarters. He was reportedly carrying ABSDF military badges to the northern branch.

Captain Thet Swe Lin from the No. 21 Military Operations Command headquarters filed charges against Ko Min Htay under Section 17(1) of Unlawful Associations Act – a colonial-era law that forbids contact with illegal organizations. The military captain claimed Ko Min Htay had violated the law through his cooperation with the Kachin Independence Army in the 80s and 90s – before the KIA signed a bilateral ceasefire agreement with the military. (That ceasefire broke down in 2011, and the conflict between the KIA and the military is still active.)

For the next several months, Ko Min Htay was held at the Banmaw prison while judge Zeyar Aye Cho heard testimony from witnesses for the defense and for the plaintiff.

In March, another military officer who testified as a plaintiff’s witness recommended that Ko Min Htay be charged for defamation for his portrayal of a Myanmar military commander in the 2008 Sylvester Stallone film “Rambo.” These charges were never brought.

The judge accepted the case for trial in mid-July.

Throughout the proceedings, Ko Min Htay argued that he had been arbitrarily detained and called on the authorities to respect the terms of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, which the ABSDF brokered with the Myanmar government in October 2015.

Defense witnesses also argued that the road he was traveling on when he was arrested was open for public use.

Today, in a Momauk Township court, judge Zeyar Aye Cho decided to dismiss the case and set Ko Min Htay free, saying there were no grounds for the charges.

The “Rambo” star’s release coincided with the release of six journalists from prison today, including three reporters who were also charged under the Unlawful Associations Act by military officers in northern Shan State in June for covering on a drug-burning ceremony organized by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, which is not a signatory to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement.

In July, Ko Min Htay declared his solidarity with the reporters, saying:  “A reporter’s job is to give information to the people. That is his responsibility. Just like a medical doctor is responsible to treat patients, whether they are revolutionaries or government soldiers, a reporter must always try to get the news, not just government news.”

He also said the continued use of the Unlawful Associations Law, which was once “used by the British to protect their colony and suppress Myanmar patriots,” was indicative of dwindling freedoms and creeping tyranny in Myanmar.

Given his newfound freedom, Ko Min Htay says he hopes to continue his work on the central committee of the ABSDF toward bringing peace and democracy to Myanmar.

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