The military government sentenced Rev Thian Lian Sang to 23 years hard labour after finding the Chin Christian leader guilty of terrorism and sedition under Articles 49 (a) and 505 (a) of Burma’s penal code.
A source familiar with his case told Khonumthung News on condition of anonymity that the junta sentenced him to three years on 15 June for sedition and 20 years on 7 December for terrorism.
People who know Thian Lian Sang said the 42-year-old Christian leader, who worked for the Falam Baptist Church, never participated in the political movement against the military. His only crime was providing medical care to impoverished villagers in remote mountain areas as part of his church work.
Reliable sources have informed Khonumthung News the armed forces stole about $1,900 when they raided his Mandalay home and arrested him on 16 September last year.
Thian Lian Sang has been detained in Obo Prison in Mandalay since his arrest. Recently, his family was allowed to see him and reported that the pastor is in good health.
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA), a worldwide Christian fellowship representing 49 million Baptists in 126 countries and territories, has called for Thian Lian Sang’s release as well as Asia Pacific Baptist Fellowship and Asia Pacific Baptist Women’s Union.
BWA said the pastor’s arrest was “compounded by additional troubling reports of human rights violations and the intentional targeting of religious leaders in Chin State”.
Last year, Rev Cung Biak Hum was shot dead by soldiers while trying to extinguish a house fire that broke out after the army fired artillery at Thantlang. The military reportedly stole his mobile phone, watch and cut off his finger, allegedly to steal his wedding ring.