Myanmar regime imprisons two Islamic teachers, seizes mosque

MNTV News Desk 

Myanmar’s military junta handed lengthy prison sentences to two Islamic teachers last week, more than a year after accusing them of supporting the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) following the group’s capture of the town of Nawnghkio in northern Shan State, reports Myanmar Now.

Junta troops retook Nawnghkio in July 2025, a year after it fell to the TNLA and its People’s Defence Force (PDF) allies. Alleging ties with the resistance forces, the junta sealed off the town’s mosque and arrested two trustee Imams.

On October 22, the junta-controlled Kyaukme District Court sentenced the two teachers — Hla Htwe, chair of the mosque’s board of trustees, and Soe Thein, the secretary — to 11 years in jail.

“They were arrested a long time ago. The sentence was handed down just now, and each of them received 11 years,” a local man told Myanmar Now. 

A member of Nawnghkio’s Muslim community said the court’s decision also states that the mosque will be seized as state property, so preparations are underway to file an appeal with the Shan State High Court.

“The mosque has been sealed for a long time. Now that it is under order to be confiscated as state property, the religious leaders are working with lawyers to pursue the matter further,” he said.

Myanmar Now contacted officials from the All Myanmar Islam Religious Organization to find out more about the appeal, but had not received a response by the time of writing.