Courts in Myanmar have sentenced nine activists to up to 37 years in prison for participating in a protest urging the public to boycott last December's elections, according to activist groups.

Eight protesters against the military government, including prominent activist Htet Myat Aung, were sentenced to 37 years on Tuesday by two courts in Mandalay, the country's second-largest city, the Anti-Junta Forces Coordination Committee-Mandalay said on Wednesday.

The sentences were imposed following convictions under the electoral law and counterterrorism law, said May Hnin, a spokesperson for the group. A ninth activist was sentenced to 27 years under the counterterrorism law.

The activists were arrested on December 4, a day after staging a flash protest in downtown Mandalay. They urged the public to boycott elections scheduled between December 25, 2025, and January 25, 2026, and to reject mandatory conscription. They also called for the release of political prisoners detained after the 2021 military coup.

May Hnin said she believes the military imprisoned the activists for peaceful protest to instill fear and secure its hold on power. "These sentences are proof that a government that came to power through a sham election can never establish a federal democratic system," she said.

The activists will not appeal the verdicts, as they do not believe the sentences will be overturned. The military-backed government has not publicly commented.

In July 2025, Myanmar adopted a law banning any speech, organizing, inciting, protesting, or distributing leaflets aimed at disrupting the electoral process, with penalties up to the death penalty. Over 200 people were charged under this law before the December election, which saw the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party win a majority. Opponents and independent observers said the election was neither free nor fair.

Source: www.aljazeera.com