Families unable to meet pair of village administrators detained last month in Sittwe Twsp

By DMG 29 Jun 2022

DMG Newsroom
29 June 2022, Sittwe 

Family members say that since their loved ones’ re-arrests last month, they have not been in contact with the two village administrators from Arakan State’s Sittwe Township. 

The families have told DMG that they do not know the reason for the continued detention of U Rawbi, the administrator of Bawdupa village, and U Tun Hla Sein, the administrator of Kyet Kaing Tan village. They have not been allowed to meet the detainees since they were arrested for a second time on May 24, a family member told DMG. 

“They are reportedly being held at Sittwe Prison, but family members have not been allowed to meet the detainees since their re-arrest. The two men were sued under Section 41(a) of the Forest Law,” the family member added. 

The two men were first arrested on May 4 and charged under Section 41(a) of the Forest Law, and were released on bail on May 20. But the pair was detained again in Sittwe on May 24. 

A family member of U Tun Hla Sein told DMG that he had not been in contact with him and that the Kyet Kaing Tan village administrator’s status was not known. 

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

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

Tensions have been running high between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army over recent weeks in Arakan State, where dozens of civilians have been arrested by the former following abductions of junta personnel by the latter.