Statement on the Sentencing of Reverend Thian Lian Sang to 23 Years at the Obo Prison in Burma

Statement on the Sentencing of Reverend Thian Lian Sang to 23 Years at the Obo Prison in Burma

December 8, 2022

Washington DC, USA ——-  On December 7, 2022, (Myanmar Time) the Burmese military also known as the State Administration Council (SAC) sentenced the Reverend Thian Lian Sang, age 42, to 23 years of imprisonment at the Obo Prison in Mandalay, Burma. Reverend Sang served as the pastor of Falam Baptist Church in Mandalay. A reliable source familiar with the situation confirmed the sentencing with the Chin Association of Maryland, Inc. (CAM). CAM mentioned the arrest of the pastor by the military in September 2021 in its report After the 2021 Military Coup in Myanmar/Burma –– and also advocated for his release during the International Religious Freedom Submit on June 28-30, 2022, in Washington, DC (Seventeen Months After the Military Coup in Myanmar/Burma).

CAM issues the following statement:

1. CAM strongly condemns the unjust imprisonment of Reverend Thian Lian Sang by the SAC and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Reverend Sang from the Obo Prison.
2. The imprisonment of Reverend Sang is further proof that the SAC’s actions constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity, and therefore, the Min Aung Hlaing-led SAC must be brought to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.
3. CAM urges the Biden administration and the U.S. Congress to do more on the Burmese military to release Reverend Sang.

Reverand Thian Lian Sang. Photo Source: Undisclosed source.