Filmmaker Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi talks to media at Insein court in Yangon, Myanmar on July 18, 2019.A Myanmar judge on Thursday charged filmmaker Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi for Facebook posts he made about the powerful military, meaning he will stand trial despite concern over his health and an outcry from human rights groups.
In the posts he criticized the military’s political role and Myanmar’s 2008 constitution, which was drawn up by the former ruling junta and which civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi is attempting to amend.The case is one of a slew the military has launched against critics in recent months. Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi pleaded not guilty to the charge, under section 505 of Myanmar’s colonial-era penal code, which carries a maximum two-year prison term for statements that could cause a soldier or other service member “to mutiny or otherwise disregard or fail in his duty.”
After Thursday’s ruling, the filmmaker told reporters he did not intend to damage or disrespect the military.“The military was also not destroyed. There is no proof that respect was lost in the military. But I was charged with 505,” he said.The complainant, Lieutenant-Colonel Lin Tun, told the court that he filed the lawsuit because he took offence at the filmmaker’s posts.
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