"Six Karenni youth activists were sentenced by a Loikaw Township court to six months in prison with hard labor on Thursday for their role in protesting a statue of the late Gen Aung San. A lawyer for the defendants said that the decision was made after 18 court sessions. “A court of law made a final decision that they would be sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, but the days they already spent in detention must be deducted from their prison term. Therefore their prison term will end on December 21, 2019,” lawyer Saw Khu Talay told NMG. Those sentenced include Khun Thomas, Khu Kyu Phae Kay—also known as Guugu, Pyar Lay, Dee De, Khu Reh Du and Myo Hlaing Win. They were arrested on June 21 after the closing ceremony of a commemoration for Karenni National Day. The charges against the youth date back to March 25, when they released a statement accusing Karenni State chief minister L Phoung Sho, finance minister Maw Maw, and other officials involved in the erecting of the statue of Gen Aung San of betraying Karenni history and sowing disunity among ethnic peoples. The activists were charged with violating Article 10 of Burma’s Law Protecting the Privacy and Security of Citizens because their actions allegedly had a negative effect on the reputation of the state officials..."