Father, son arrested for posting video of junta soldiers arresting Sittwe residents

By Admin 18 Nov 2023

DMG Newsroom
18 November 2023, Sittwe

Myanmar’s military regime on Friday night arrested a young man and his father who uploaded a video of junta soldiers arresting residents in Sittwe.

University student Maung Myat Htoo Naing and his father U Maung Than Win were taken from their home in Sittwe’s Kandawgyi Ward by junta soldiers at about 9 p.m. on Friday.

“Masked junta soldiers entered the home and conducted checks on family members. They [junta soldiers] abducted Maung Myat Htoo Naing and his father for questioning. I don’t know where they were taken,” said a relative of the arrestees.

Maung Myat Htoo Naing uploaded a video on his Facebook account that showed dozens of fully armed junta soldiers in five military trucks arresting four residents in Sittwe’s Mingan Ward on the evening of November 15.

Family members are concerned for the safety of the two detainees as they have not been in contact with them since they were arrested.

“U Maung Than Win is deaf and suffering from a stomach ailment. We are worried about their safety. We don’t know who to go to in order to deal with the problem. We want the pair released as soon as possible after they are questioned,” said a family member.

Junta soldiers, in addition to the father-son duo and thefour residents in Mingan Ward, also arrested eight correspondent students near Lawkananda Pagoda in Sittwe on November 15.

“The soldiers checked the angle of the video and went to arrest him. Revealing the truth is not safe at this time. People can be arrested in their own homes and have no freedom. Locals are instinctively afraid as military vehicles are moving around in Sittwe,” said a local woman in the Arakan State capital.

Myanmar’s military regime imposed a nighttime curfew in Sittwe on Monday and armoured vehicles patrolled the streets in an apparent show of force after the Arakan Army (AA) attacked multiple military positions elsewhere in Arakan State.