YANGON: Myanmar’s military said Wednesday it arrested a man who sent anti-election messages in a private Facebook chat, wielding laws that rights groups say curb personal liberties to crush dissent.
The junta snatched power in a 2021 coup which plunged Myanmar into a many-sided civil war, but it promises that polls starting in late December will move the country toward peace and democracy.
Deposed lawmakers excluded from the vote, human rights monitors and guerilla rebels opposing the junta have dismissed the election as a charade to disguise continuing military rule.
Ahead of the poll the military government introduced broad new legislation including clauses punishing protesting or criticizing the election with up to a decade in prison.
A junta statement said 58-year-old Khaing Soe from Bogyoke village near Yangon was arrested under the law on Friday.
