Myanmar court wraps up NLD legal advisor assassination case, sentences 2 men to death

Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-15 18:47:50|Editor: Yurou
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YANGON, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- A district court of Myanmar's Yangon on Friday sentenced two men to death in connection with the assassination of U Ko Ni, prominent legal advisor of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) in 2017.

The gunman Kyi Lin was sentenced to death plus a 20-year-imprisonment for killing legal advisor U Ko Ni and taxi driver U Nay Win, while Aung Win Zaw, who was charged with conspiring to assassinate U Ko Ni, was also given the death penalty.

Zeya Phyo, who was also accused of involvement in the conspiracy, was sentenced to five years in prison, while Aung Win Tun was sentenced to a three-year imprisonment for harboring the criminal Aung Win Zaw.

Appeal can be made to the supreme court by both the plaintiff and the defendants, according to an information official of the district court.

In June last year, the Yangon regional high court dismissed appeals by the suspects, maintaining most of the original charges against them.

U Ko Ni, who was also an advocate, was gunned down at the Yangon international Airport on Jan. 29, 2017 upon his arrival back from a senior leadership program in Indonesia's Jakarta. He was shot in the head by a pistol at a close distance at the airport's taxi stand near arrival terminal-1.

The police force arrested and charged the gunman Kyi Lin, 52. He was further identified as an ex-prisoner from Mandalay prison and was once sentenced to 27 years' jail term for stealing a Buddha statue, but was later released in 2014 under amnesty order after serving for 11 years' term.

The gunman also killed a taxi driver who had tried to capture him before he was arrested by the police and bystanders.

Through initial investigation, the police arrested a second suspect Aung Win Zaw, 46, who was captured 12 hours after the incident.

The two suspects confessed the involvement of a third suspect, Aung Win Khaing, who offered them 100 million kyats (over 76,000 U.S. dollars) in cash in 2016 to plot the assassination.

The police force has been cooperating with Interpol and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Police to capture Aung Win Khaing, who is still at large.

Gunman Kyi Lin was charged by Yangon district court with principal murderer for shooting U Ko Ni to death, while Aung Win Zaw and Zeya Phyo were accused of plotting the assassination with the gunman as co-conspirators.

The court also charged Kyi Lin and Aung Win Zaw with allegedly carrying illegal arms.

The gunman's assassination plot was believed to be aimed at destabilizing the nation, according to initial investigation.

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