Ann Twsp man hospitalised after military detention: family

By Hnin Nwe 15 Nov 2020

Hnin Nwe | DMG
15 November 2020, Sittwe

After being detained overnight by the military, an Ann Township resident is receiving treatment for injuries allegedly sustained while in custody, family members said.

The 47-year-old, from Chitponma village in Kyaukmyaung village-tract, was working at a prawn farm near the village when military personnel in plainclothes detained him on November 14, family members said.

U Kyaw Nu Maung was held and interrogated inside a monastery compound in Chitponma village, and was released on Sunday morning after the military column left the village, the detainee’s daughter Ma Khin Hnin Wai told DMG.

“They left my father with ropes tying his hands behind his back and left a message to an assistant at the monastery to release the man at 1 p.m. The assistant did not wait until 1 p.m. and released him right after they left,” she said.

Family members alleged that U Kyaw Nu Maung’s face was swollen and he could not move his hands or legs due to beatings he suffered while in custody. He is receiving treatment at Tat Taung cottage hospital, the family said.

“My father is semi-conscious. The whole body is swollen. The doctor told us not to worry. However, I am totally unhappy about my innocent father being arrested and beaten. I feel very sad,” Ma Khin Hnin Wai said.

DMG made several attempts to contact Major-General Zaw Min Tun and Brigadier-General Ye Yint Aung of the Tatmadaw True News Information Team to get their response to the family’s allegations, but they could not be reached.

Over the course of nearly two years of fighting between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army, the military has arrested dozens of civilians suspected of having ties to the ethnic armed group, resulting in multiple deaths in custody.

Out of those arrested on suspicion, 22 have died in military custody since the end of 2018, while others have gone missing with little or no information known about their disappearances.

The number of internally displaced people (IDPs) due to the conflict has surpassed 236,000, according to figures from the Rakhine Ethnics Congress, which collects data on IDPs.