Court Hearing under Way for Myanmar Student Activists

Angry relatives gathered outside a Myanmar court Wednesday to show support for dozens of activists, arrested after a police crackdown on a student-led protest and facing charges that could see them jailed for nearly a decade.

More than 60 demonstrators were brought to a court hearing in the central town of Letpadan two weeks after baton-wielding police violently quelled their rally for education reform in scenes that sparked fears of a return to junta-era repression.

Myanmar's quasi-civilian government introduced much-praised reforms after a half-century of military rule ended in 2011. But some observers fear these are stalling as the country heads towards a landmark election later this year. 

Kyaw Htay, one of the lawyers representing the protesters, told Agence France Presse they had each been charged by police on five counts -- including unlawful assembly and rioting -- that could see them jailed for up to 9.5 years.

"Nobody has been released as far as I know," he said, adding that the next hearing would be on April 7.

A further 11 activists will be released on bail, said Win Sein, a police colonel in Bago region.

Relatives outside the courtroom -- where police opened their case against the protesters -- sang songs, cheered loudly and shook their fists in support of the activists as they were led in pairs into the building. 

Others broke down in tears and shouted "It's not fair!"

More than 100 demonstrators were arrested after the March 10 rally, with most of them detained in nearby Tharrawaddy prison and allowed only fleeting contact with loved ones.

On Wednesday the state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said 19 men and one woman had been "turned over to their parents and relatives" the previous day. 

"The authorities have so far released 28 students and two reporters arrested in the crackdown after determining their roles in the protests," it said. 

Before the hearing worried relatives claimed that activists had been mistreated in prison and that they knew little about the legal action they face.

"My daughter still doesn't know what kind of charges have been pressed against them. They haven't been told anything clearly yet," said Ne Win, adding that his daughter Phyo Phyo Aung was beaten around the head "about six times" after being arrested.

- 'Destroying democracy' - 

Myanmar authorities were unavailable for comment.

Lawyer San Tun Aung -- among the crowd of relatives, journalists and activists gathered outside Tharrawaddy prison earlier Wednesday -- said around 45 barristers from Mandalay and Yangon had offered to represent the detainees.

"Arresting them is like destroying democracy. That is why we lawyers have to represent them," he said.

Students have long been at the forefront of political action in the nation's turbulent history, leading mass protests in 1988 which saw the rise of democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi and her party but which were brutally quashed by the military.

The protest crackdown in Letpadan came just days after police broke up a student rally in Yangon, helped by men in civilian clothes, in moves that Suu Kyi's opposition party said echoed tactics under the former junta.

The European Union, which has run programmes to train Myanmar's decrepit police force, has voiced concern at the crackdowns, while the United States and United Nations also expressed alarm.

Students have rallied in Myanmar for months to call for changes to a new education law, including decentralising the school system, allowing student unions and teaching in ethnic-minority languages. 

Talks between the government and the young activists had led to a rethink of the legislation by parliament, which is currently debating proposed changes.

But authorities had expressed determination to stop a march by the protesters from Mandalay in central Myanmar to Yangon, which began in January.

State media has announced an inquiry into the crackdown in Yangon and whether security forces "acted properly in dispersing the protesters", with findings to be submitted to the president by March 31.