NAYPYITAW, 27 October 2021, (TON): Three men including a member of the Arakan Front Party (AFP) were arrested in Rakhine State after they were accused of having connections to local People’s Defence Forces (PDFs).

Sein Chit, a 42-year-old agency member, was arrested at his home in Thandwe on October 9, with lawsuits filed against him the following day alleging he had violated Sections 50a and 52a of the Counterterrorism Law, according to Khin Hnin Phyu, his wife.

The first charge carries a prison sentence of 10 years to life if convicted with the second being three to 10 years. 

The sections ban acts of “serious damage and loss” to public security or property.

She said “we still don’t know anything for sure. They said he had ties with or was helping the PDF.”

While PDF chapters have formed nationwide within the anti-junta resistance movement in the months since Myanmar’s February 1 military coup, at the time of reporting, PDFs were not known to operate in Rakhine State.

The primary armed group in the state is the Arakan Army, which entered into a ceasefire agreement with the military in November 2020.