Two Sittwe Twsp village administrators released on bail are re-arrested

By DMG 26 May 2022

DMG Newsroom
26 May 2022, Sittwe 

Two village administrators in Arakan State’s Sittwe Township were re-arrested four days after they were released on bail and charged under the Forest Law, according to family members. 

Family members said they didn’t know the reason for the re-arrest of U Rawbi, the administrator of Bawdupa village, and U Tun Hla Sein, the administrator of Kyet Kaing Tan village. The families have not been allowed to meet the detainees since their re-arrest. 

“Two village administrators were summoned by the police for questioning. The duo was re-arrested and family members are not allowed to meet them. I don’t know the reason why they were arrested,” a family member of U Rawbi told DMG. 

Myanmar’s military detained seven Muslims and an Arakanese village administrator from Sittwe on May 3 and May 4, releasing six of the Muslims on May 5. The military also detained two Muslim 100-household heads from Aung Dine village-tract in Sittwe on April 9 and released the pair the next day. 

Authorities also seized timber logs piled up near a sawmill owned by U Tun Hla Sein during the arrest, according to his family. 

The two men were sued under Section 41(a) of the Forest Law and released on bail on May 20. But the pair was detained again by No. 1 police station in Sittwe on May 24. 

DMG was unable to contact Police Captain Hsan Kyaw Tun, head of Sittwe’s No. 1 police station, for comment on the re-arrest of the two village administrators.