UN Headquarters in New York
This July 27, 2007 file photo shows the United Nations Headquarters building in New York. Two Myanmar citizens have been arrested on charges alleging that they conspired to oust Myanmar's ambassador to the United Nations by injuring or killing him. U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a release on Friday, Aug. 6, 2021 that Phyo Hein Htut and Ye Hein Zaw plotted to seriously injure or kill Kyaw Moe Tun in an attack that was to take place in Westchester County.
AP Photo/Osamu Honda, File
  • Two Myanmar citizens were arrested on charges of conspiring to assault and attack Myanmar's Ambassador to the United Nations, according to prosecutors.
  • Phyo Hein Htut, 28, and Ye Hein Zaw, 20, could potentially be sentenced to up to five years.
  • The conspiracy is estimated to have occurred between July and August, according to prosecutors.
  • See more stories on Insider's business page.

Two Myanmar citizens were arrested on charges of conspiring to assault and attack Myanmar's Ambassador to the United Nations, according to a press release on Friday from the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

Both Phyo Hein Htut, 28, and Ye Hein Zaw, 20, were set to appear in the US District Court in White Plains on Friday. The maximum potential sentence for the charge can be up to five years.

"As alleged, Phyo Hein Htut and Ye Hein Zaw plotted to seriously injure or kill Myanmar's ambassador to the United Nations in a planned attack on a foreign official that was to take place on American soil," said US Attorney Audrey Strauss.

Officials approximate that the conspiracy transpired between July 2021 and August 5, 2021.

According to prosecutors, Zaw transferred $4,000 to Htut. The Department of Justice alleges that Htut hired attackers and told Zaw on a recorded phone call that the hired attackers would require an additional $1,000 to "conduct the attack on the Ambassador in Westchester County, and for an additional payment the attackers could, in substance, 'finish off' the Ambassador."

Htut allegedly also communicated with an arms dealer in Thailand who sold to the Burmese military - who supposedly played a role in the Myanmar coup earlier this year, according to the Department of Justice.

The UN Special Rapporteur who focuses on human rights in Myanmar tweeted: "I'm horrified by news that a supplier of weapons to the Myanmar military allegedly paid two Myanmar nationals to harm or kill UN Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun in New York in a plot to pressure him to relinquish his post. Who was behind this outrage and who will hold them accountable?"

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