CNN
Two Myanmar citizens have been charged in New York with allegedly plotting to kill or injure Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations, Kyaw Moe Tun, the US Attorney’s Office said Friday.
(CNN)Two Myanmar citizens have been charged in New York with allegedly plotting to kill or injure Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations, Kyaw Moe Tun, the US Attorney’s Office said Friday.
The duo are accused of conspiring with an arms dealer in Thailand who sells weapons to the Myanmar military, to “seriously injure or kill” the ambassador “in a planned attack on a foreign official that was to take place on American soil,” said Audrey Strauss, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, in a statement.
Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup on February 1 and Myanmar Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun has been outspoken against its sacking of the civilian government and its deadly suppression of protests. The United Nations has not recognized the military junta, and in his position as UN ambassador, Kyaw Moe Tun continues to represent the ousted civilian government, which is operating underground.
Kyaw Moe Tun told CNN he was made aware of the alleged plot on Tuesday and reported it to the US Mission and law enforcement, believing it to be a credible threat. He said the FBI and New York police are now providing him with 24-hour security.
Suspects Phyo Hein Htut, 28, and Ye Hein Zaw, 20, who live in New York, were each charged with one count of conspiracy to assault and make a violent attack upon a foreign official, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
According to the legal complaint, Phyo Hein Htut told the FBI the arms dealer had made contact via Facebook and FaceTime, allegedly offering him cash to hire attackers to hurt the ambassador in an attempt to force him to step down from his post.
If Kyaw Moe Tun did not step down, the arms dealer allegedly proposed the attackers would kill him by tampering with the tires of the ambassador’s car so it would crash while he was inside, the complaint said.
After allegedly …
