Journalist dies in prison after being arrested over covering protest in Myanmar
Koe Soe Naing and a colleague were detained in Yangon while covering Friday’s ‘silent strike’ called by opponents of the coup.
A freelance photojournalist from Myanmar has died in military custody after being arrested last week while covering protests, according to his colleagues and a friend of his family.
Ko Soe Naing is the first journalist known to have died in custody since the army seized power in February, ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. More than 100 journalists have been detained since then, though about half have been released.
Koe Soe Naing, who was a graphic designer as well as a freelance journalist, was arrested Friday when he and a colleague were in downtown Yangon taking photos during a “silent strike” called by opponents of military rule.
It was the biggest nationwide protest in several months, and the streets were virtually empty as people answered the call to stay home and businesses to shut down for six hours.
Ko Soe Naing is not the first detainee to die in government custody. There is no clear total, but the others reported dead while in custody have been political activists and members of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party.
In several cases where the bodies could be seen, they bore marks that suggested the individuals had been tortured, according to human rights activists.
Journalists have mostly been targets for arrest, as the military-installed government has sought to clamp down on the free flow of information. In addition to detaining media workers, many outlets have been forced to close or operate underground, with their staff always at risk of arrest.
Ko Soe Naing and his colleague have been covering the crisis in Myanmar for months, with their work depicting anti-military protests and brutal crackdowns by security forces sometimes picked up by foreign news agencies.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES