A prominent leader of the protest movement against Myanmar’s military junta has been charged with several crimes, including murder, high treason and unlawful assembly, state TV reported on Wednesday.
Wai Moe Naing was arrested during a rally in the city of Monywa earlier this month, where he was barged off his motorbike by plainclothes police and detained at gunpoint, according to news outlet Myanmar Now.
He has been charged by the junta with the killing of two police officers in Monywa in March and faces a total of five charges, carrying a potential 28-year prison sentence, according to his lawyer Moe Zaw Htun.
Wai Moe Naing is set to appear at a hearing on May 7 and is in good health, his lawyer said.
His indictment comes a day after the armed rebel group, the Karen National Union (KNU), claimed to have seized a military base from Myanmar’s army, near the Thai border.
Myanmar has seen daily protests and widespread violence since the military seized power in a coup on February 1 and detained the democratically-elected civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and other government officials.
More than 750 citizens have been killed since the coup, according to the non-profit group, Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
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