Victoria case in Myanmar
Myanmar
The cases of the lawyers U Khin Maung Zaw and Daw Su Darli Aung from Myanmar were brought to the attention of Lawyers for Lawyers. U Khing Maung Zaw and Daw Su Darli Aung jointly defend a defendant in a trial called the “Victoria-case”, a child rape case, currently the most famous and known criminal case in Myanmar. The case has generated unprecedented attention from the public in support of the defendant and against the justice system.
Lawyer Daw Su Darli Aung has been charged with violating Section 96d of the new Child Rights Act and a lawsuit against her was opened on the 31st of August 2019. A complaint against U Khin Maung Zaw has also been filed with the police.
Section 96d of the new Child Rights Act, reads: “No one shall be allowed for collecting, publishing or publicizing information on the identity of the child accused of committing an offence or a child involved in a case as a witness or photographing children for inclusion, distribution and use in periodicals and books and for dissemination on the radio, on television and through social media.” Violation of this provision is made punishable in Section 101 of the Child Rights Law: “Whoever commits any of the following acts shall, upon conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term of minimum 4 months to maximum 1 year or with a fine of minimum Kyat 400,000 to maximum Kyat 600,000 or with both”.
Daw Su Darli Aung en U Khing Maung Zaw are defending the driver from the school where the child was allegedly raped and who is accused of the alleged rape. The lawyers have tried to prove the innocence of driver and are accused of having mentioned the names of the alleged real perpetrators. However, we were informed that none of the lawyers revealed the names of the alleged real perpetrators, as they only used their nicknames. It has been stated that the accusations against the lawyers seem to be false and only made for the purpose of silencing both lawyers.
During the first hearing in the case against Daw Su Darli Aung, over 30 lawyers were present to stand in solidary for Daw Su Darli Aung. The case against the lawyer is still ongoing.