Families yet to hear from seven Sittwe detainees

By DMG 15 Oct 2022

DMG Newsroom
15 October 2022, Sittwe

Concern is growing over the fate of seven Sittwe residents whose families have not heard from them since they were detained by the Myanmar military on Thursday.

The Set Yone Su Ward residents were detained, and at least some of them allegedly beaten, at their houses in midnight raids on Thursday in the Arakan State capital.

Junta soldiers forcibly entered their house before beating her father, said a daughter of U Khin Maung Kyaw, one of the detainees.

“They kicked open the gate and front door. As my father woke up, they took him out of our house. When I was going to go out of the house, a soldier pointed his gun at me, and told me to stay inside. And they asked my father about a name and beat him,” she said.

The wife of another of the seven detainees, Ko Than Kyaw Naing, said her husband was also beaten as he was detained.

“They shouted at Than Kyaw Naing at home. As my husband went downstairs, he was beaten, handcuffed, and taken away. When I peeked from my home, I saw around 80 soldiers. The soldiers didn’t tell why he was detained,” she said.

Family members insist the detainees are innocent.

DMG was unable to obtain comment from junta spokesman Major-General Zaw Min Tun and Arakan State Security and Border Affairs Minister Colonel Kyaw Thura.