Family worries over Paletwa Twsp detainee accused of incitement, held incommunicado for weeks

By DMG 22 Jan 2022

DMG Newsroom
22 January 2022, Chin State

Worries are growing over the wellbeing of Ko Tin Tun Aung from Paletwa town, Chin State, who was detained by the Myanmar military and charged with incitement, as his family has not had contact with him for nearly a month.

He was arrested along with another man on December 28, 2021, after telling the Arakan State-based media outlet Western News that a white flag had been seen flying on a hill where a military battalion was stationed in Paletwa Township.

The other man was released, but Ko Tin Tun Aung remains in custody and a lawsuit has been opened against him under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code, an incitement provision, according to his family. 

He was transferred to the Arakan State capital Sittwe on January 12, but his exact whereabouts are not known, said U Min Aung, the elder brother of Ko Tin Tun Aung.

“We do not know his condition. We do not know where he is being detained. It has been 24 days since he was arrested. We only know he was taken to Sittwe,” U Min Aung told DMG.

“If we know where he has been detained, we can send food to him. Now, we are worried about him every day as we are not aware of his whereabouts. There are three people in our family: my mother, my younger brother and me. So, my mom is worried about him so much,” he added.

Regarding the Western News report of a white flag flying over the hillside military position in Paletwa, legal action has also been taken against the outlet’s editor-in-chief and a reporter.

Many of the news agency’s employees have since gone into hiding, fearing potential arrest.