<p>Nineteen people have been sentenced to death in Myanmar for killing an associate of an army captain in a district of Yangon, the military owned Myawaddy television station said on Friday. It said 17 of the people were sentenced in absentia.</p>.<p>They were the first such sentences announced in public since a February 1 coup. The television said the killing took place in the North Okkalapa district of Myanmar's biggest city. Martial law has been declared in the district, allowing court martials to pronounce sentences.</p>
<p>Nineteen people have been sentenced to death in Myanmar for killing an associate of an army captain in a district of Yangon, the military owned Myawaddy television station said on Friday. It said 17 of the people were sentenced in absentia.</p>.<p>They were the first such sentences announced in public since a February 1 coup. The television said the killing took place in the North Okkalapa district of Myanmar's biggest city. Martial law has been declared in the district, allowing court martials to pronounce sentences.</p>