Bangkok - A Myanmar court sentenced six activists opposed to a controversial Chinese-backed copper mine to over four years in prison Friday, a lawyer in the case said.
The campaigners were arrested following December protests near the Chinese embassy in Yangon calling for the closure of the mine venture in the central town of Monywa, which has been dogged by complaints of land-grabbing and environmental damage.
"All six activists were sentenced to four years and four months imprisonment each," lawyer Robert San Aung, who represented five of the activists, told AFP.
He said the court found them guilty on charges including defying an order to disperse, disrupting the duty of a civil servant and protesting without permission.
Myanmar has earned international approval for political and economic reforms since the end of outright army rule in 2011.
But rights groups and the opposition have raised fears that the reforms are stalling, with arrests of dozens of protesters and signs of a squeeze on media freedoms.
The Letpadaung mine -- run by Chinese firm Wanbao as part of a joint venture with a major Myanmar military conglomerate --- has raised questions about Myanmar's reliance on investment from neighbouring China, which gave crucial political support to the former junta.
Protests in Yangon were sparked by the death of Khin Win, in her 50s, who was shot dead by police near the mine in December, during clashes with demonstrators trying to stop the mine company from building a fence in territory disputed with local farmers.
Authorities have yet to announce any prosecutions in the killing.
AFP
