One of three people accused of involvement in an allegedly fabricated rape claim that triggered communal unrest in Mandalay early last month says he has been denied his constitutional right to free speech.
U Thura Ye Htut made the comment as he left a court in Pyinmana on August 4 where he is one of three people facing charges.
He also said that the three defendants had been made scapegoats for the unrest.
"Everyone knows who is responsible; there is no transparency in the court," he said.
U Thura Ye Htut and co-defendant, Ma Nu Nu Myat, have been charged with allegedly paying co-defendant Ma Phyu Phyu Min to falsely claim she had been raped. They are being prosecuted under sections of the Emergency Provisions Act, for which the maximum penalty is seven years' imprisonment, or a fine or both.
U Aung Thurein Tun, who is appearing at the hearing for the defendants, said witnesses for the prosecution had been questioned at the hearing on August 4.
The violence in Myanmar's second-biggest city erupted on July 1 after social media published claims that a woman had been raped by two Muslim brothers who owned a tea shop.
The state-controlled New Light of Myanmar reported on July 20 that a woman had admitted to police that she was paid to fabricate the rape claim by two people "who apparently had a personal dispute with the tea shop owners".
