Junta forces in Sagaing have arrested a human rights and environmental activist after detaining his wife and two-year-old son.
Kyaw Min Htut, who works for the Myanmar Alliance for Transparency and Accountability (MATA), was detained on Monday at his home in Monywa along with his brother, Kyaw Min Aung, and a third person, MATA said in a statement.
The day before, junta forces detained the activist’s wife, Khin Saw Hlaing, and his son in what a former MATA employee suggested was a bid to force Kyaw Min Htun to hand himself in.
“We assume that his wife and son were taken from their home and were used to force the brothers to surrender,” he said. “We can say this because it’s not the first time the military has taken family members to get the people they wanted.”
“We still can’t get any information about them, we’re worried for their lives,” he added.
In its statement, MATA said the detention of its employee’s wife and child was an “ugly” move and a violation of humanitarian standards.
Kyaw Min Htut is also part of a group working on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, a global project focussed on ending abuses in the oil, gas and mineral resources sectors, the statement said.
The activist has been advocating for democracy and human rights through peaceful means, it added.
Man Zar Myay Mon, a protest leader from Sagaing’s Chaung-U Township and an executive member of the Sagaing EIEI, was arrested on June 8 and had his fingers broken while being tortured in detention.
MATA’s statement called for the release of all political prisoners, including Kyaw Min Htut.
More than 6,300 political prisoners arrested since the coup are still in detention, the latest figures from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners show.
Source: Myanmar Now
