Nay Myo Wai, the rabblerousing leader of the fringe Buddhist group ironically named the Peace and Diversity Party, was found not guilty of online defamation on Friday, one of the only known defendants to walk free after being charged under the same law.
A photo of Wai on social media shows him hugging supporters, and the news of the verdict was also reported in local media outlet 7Day.
Wai was arrested in May for Facebook posts saying, among other things, that the Myanmar army chief Min Aung Hlaing hasn’t seized power because he wants to marry Aung San Suu Kyi, appeared
His arrests came amid a series of cases involving people who were arrested for Facebook posts and charged under Article 66D of the Telecommunications law, which amounts to online defamation.
But the twist is that Wai has been found not guilty and released, while the cases involving an NLD supporter, an aid worker and a poet resulted in convictions with sentences of time served.
Wai, who once threatened to beat up Muslims and serve them pork curry, represents one of the more extreme fronts of the Buddhist nationalism movement in Myanmar, a movement that has taken a hit in recent days as the largest group, Ma Ba Tha, was declared illegal by the state Buddhist council.
His arrest came after activist Wai Yan Aung filed a petition accusing him of “defamatory posts against the president [Htin Kyaw], the state counselor [Aung San Suu Kyi] and the commander-in-chief of the defense services”.
“I’m doing this as an attempt to prevent both him and other instigators from disintegrating the union,” Wai Yan Aung told Eleven Media.
Nay Myo Wai rose to prominence during the lead-up to last year’s election, but receded from view after the ruling party lost to Suu Kyi’s party in November elections. But he continued his campaigns on Facebook, and attended a protest about the use of the term Rohingya at the US embassy..
His trial took place in Irrawaddy region. Attempts to reach him and an associate were not successful.
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