Myanmar: Four prisoners, including a former MP from Aung San Suu Kyi's party and a well-known activist, were executed by the Myanmar government on Monday, the country's first execution in decades.

The four men were convicted of aiding the militia in their fight against the military, which had seized control in a coup last year and unleashed bloody crackdowns on its rivals, and were sentenced to death in covert trials in January and April.

The Government of National Unity (NUG), the illegal shadow government of military power in Myanmar, condemned the executions and demanded that the generals be subjected to international sanctions.

“I am deeply saddened… Kyaw Jaw, a spokesman for the NUG president’s office, sent a text message in which he strongly condemned the brutality of the junta. “The world must hold them accountable for their cruelty.”

Suu Kyi, one of the people who killed former National League for Democracy (NLD) MP Phyo Zeya Thaw, was detained in November.
Well-known democracy activist Kyaw Min Yew, also known as "Jimmy", was also killed.

Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Jaw, two other men sentenced to death for the murder of a woman they claimed was an informer for the junta in Yangon.

Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar, issued a statement saying, "I am outraged and devastated by the news of the execution of the junta of Myanmar's patriots and champions of human rights and democracy."
"My heart goes out to their families, friends and loved ones, as well as to all those in Myanmar who are suffering as a result of the increasing atrocities of the people," the speaker said. The international community will have to change as a result of these heinous acts.

After the executions were announced last month, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the junta's decision, calling it "a clear violation of the right to life, liberty and the safety of the individual".

Phyo Zeya Thaw was accused of planning several attacks against regime security forces, including a gun attack on a commuter train in Yangon in August that killed five police officers.

He was a pioneer of hip-hop, whose subversive rhymes influenced previous junta. He was jailed in 2008 for being associated with an illegal organization and possessing foreign currency.

In the 2015 elections, which marked the beginning of the transition to civilian rule, Suu Kyi was elected to serve in parliament on behalf of the NLD.

As a justification for its coup on 1 February last year, the country's military accused it of voter fraud during elections in 2020, which the NLD won overwhelmingly.

Suu Kyi has since been in custody, and a junta court has charged her with a range of crimes that could result in more than 150 years in prison.

In an overnight raid in October, Kyaw Min Yew, who gained notoriety against the country's former military regime during Myanmar's 1988 student uprising, was detained. In the past, hanging has been the method used in Myanmar for executions.

Since the coup last year, Myanmar has been in a state of anarchy, sparking conflict across the country after the military held largely peaceful protests in cities.

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