A Myanmar man was sentenced to seven years of hard labor for criticizing the military government’s parliamentary election plans, state-run media said on Wednesday.

Ko Nay Thway had shared footage on his online account “Lashio Baegyi” of a car robbery that involved an assault on a female driver. In a post that has since been removed, he criticized the government for urging people to partake in the upcoming December elections without first ensuring safety in urban areas.

“Look at it with your own eyes … If you [the junta] want the votes from the people, think of serving the people,” the post read.

Nay Thway’s criticism was directed toward election laws introduced by Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlain in July. According to an exiled Burmese-run news outlet, the law would impose harsh penalties on any dissenters or individuals who attempt to condemn the junta’s proposed policies:

The new law imposes 3-5 years in prison for election sabotage; 5-10 years for damaging ballot boxes, polling stations, or voting machines (or life imprisonment if committed as a group); and 10-20 years for causing serious injury to voters, polling staff, candidates, or election officials…Any offense resulting in death is punishable by execution.

Critics are concerned that the election law echoes legislation enacted by an earlier junta leader, Than Shwe, which instated a controlled process keeping a leading role for the military. Many are worried that the law is a mere ploy to keep military power under the guise of the democratic process. Mi Kun Chan Non, a women’s activist working with Myanmar’s Mon ethnic minority, has reportedly called the election a “sham” and not “inclusive” or “legitimate.”

Myanmar has been plagued by internal conflict since a February 2021 coup installed the ruling junta and ended a six-year democratic opening. Various human rights groups have condemned the escalating humanitarian crisis in the country. Most Western countries have not recognized the junta as the legitimate government of Myanmar.

Nay Thway is the first individual to be convicted under the election law. It is unknown if he plans to appeal his conviction.