Myanmar journalist dies in military custody

 

Soe Naing was arrested along with a colleague while taking photos during last Friday’s “silent strike” after which he was sent to a military interrogation centre in Yangon’s eastern Botahtaung Township.

Soe Naing is the first journalist known to have died in custody since the army seized power in February. (Reporters Without Borders)

A local freelance photojournalist in Myanmar has died in military custody after being arrested last week while covering protests. 

Soe Naing, who was a graphic designer as well as a freelance journalist, was arrested on Friday when he and a colleague were in downtown Yangon taking photos during a “silent strike” called by opponents of military rule. 

After his arrest, Soe Naing was sent to a military interrogation center in Yangon’s Eastern Botahtaung Township, said colleagues. 

His family was informed on Tuesday morning that he died at the 1,000-Bed Defense Service General Hospital in Yangon’s Mingaladon Township, said colleagues and a family friend, who spoke on condition of anonymity as giving such information could make them targets for arrest.

The current situation of the photographer arrested with him was not known. Soe Naing's wife and a four-year-old son could also not be contacted.

Soe Naing is the first journalist known to have died in custody since the army seized power in February, ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. 

Marks on dead bodies indicate torture

Soe Naing is not the first detainee to die in government custody.

There is no clear total, but the others reported dead while in custody have been political activists and members of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party. 

In several cases where the bodies could be seen, they bore marks that suggested the individuals had been tortured, according to human rights activists.

Journalists have mostly been targets for arrest, as the military-installed government has sought to clamp down on the free flow of information. 

More than 100 journalists have been detained since the army seized power in February, though about half have been released.

Since the army takeover, interrogation centers across Myanmar have been increasingly using torture against detainees, an investigation by the Associated Press revealed. 

Many of the centers were built and used under a former period of military rule, while others have been set up on military bases or even community buildings. 

An army defector told that he witnessed soldiers torture two prisoners to death at a mountaintop interrogation center inside an army base in Chin state.

Source: AP 

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