JAKARTA: An Indonesian influencer has been sentenced to seven years in prison for meeting with rebels in junta-ruled Myanmar, a foreign ministry official in Jakarta said Wednesday (July 2).
Myanmar has been consumed by a many-sided civil war since the military snatched power in a 2021 coup, with millions of people displaced, according to United Nations figures.
The Indonesian social media influencer, identified by officials as a 33-year-old with the initials A. P., was arrested by Myanmar authorities in December.
“After going through the court process, A. P. was sentenced to seven years in prison,” said Judha Nugraha, director for citizen protection at the Indonesian foreign ministry.
The Indonesian national was accused of “entering Myanmar illegally and then meeting with an armed group categorised as a banned organisation”, said Judha.
A Myanmar court charged him with violating laws on terrorism, immigration and unlawful association, as the junta battles rebels in a grinding war.
The Indonesian man is currently being held at Insein Prison in Yangon, Myanmar’s economic capital.
The ministry official said Jakarta was “facilitating a request for clemency from the family”.
On a social media account reported by local media to belong to the jailed influencer, posts show a man jaunting through conflict zones – including war-torn Ukraine and Afghanistan – as well as enjoying glitzy stays in Bali and Paris.
In Instagram posts dated November 2024, he shared images captioned from various locations in Myanmar and with various groups belonging to the anti-coup resistance.
He posted several pictures of himself with alleged rebels in uniform, including some armed with weapons.
Myanmar’s military has suffered stinging territorial losses to the myriad anti-coup fighters and ethnic armed organisations opposing its rule.
The junta has been forced to turn to conscription to bolster the ranks after four years of war. – AFP
