Myanmar sentences lawmaker from Suu Kyi's party to death

Myanmar's junta sentenced a member of Aung San Suu Kyi's ousted party to death for terror offences on Friday, a statement said.

Phyo Zeyar Thaw, a member of the National League for Democracy arrested in November, was "sentenced to the death penalty today under anti-terrorism act", the junta said.

Prominent democracy activist Kyaw Min Yu — better known as "Jimmy" — received the same sentence from the military tribunal, the junta statement said.

The junta has sentenced dozens of anti-coup activists to death as part of its crackdown on dissent but Myanmar has not carried out an execution for decades.

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Phyo Zeyar Thaw — whose real name is Maung Kyaw — was arrested at an apartment in the commercial hub Yangon following a "tip-off and cooperation from dutiful citizens," the junta's information team said.

He had been accused of orchestrating several attacks on regime forces, including the brazen shooting on a commuter train in Yangon in August that killed five policemen.

He was elected to parliament from Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party in the 2015 elections that ushered in a transition to civilian rule.

The Southeast Asian country has been in turmoil since the coup sparked massive protests and a bloody military crackdown on dissent, which has killed more than 1,400 people according to a local monitoring group.

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