Families denied access to two detained Thandwe Twsp men including government employee

12 Oct 2022

DMG Newsroom
12 October 2022, Thandwe

Family members say they have not been allowed to meet an employee from the General Administration Department (GAD) and a construction company owner in Arakan State’s Thandwe Township who were recently arrested by the military.

The military’s Ngapali-based Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 55 abducted Ko Phyo Maung Maung, a clerk from the GAD, and U Aung Kyaw Win, managing director of Pyae Phyo Thandar Construction Co. in Thandwe on October 7, said sources close to the detainees.

“He was taken from his home and the reason for the arrest is still unknown. Family members have not been allowed to meet him,” said a source close to Ko Phyo Maung Maung.

Junta soldiers from LIB No. 55 also detained U Aung Kyaw Win in Dwaryawady Ward, Thandwe, according to residents.

The two men are currently being interrogated at the battalion headquarters and have not been transferred to police custody or charged with any counts, said an unnamed police officer from Thandwe Myoma police station.

“No one opened a case against them. The duo is currently being questioned at LIB 55 and they are not transferred to the police station,” the police officer explained.

A military officer from LIB No. 55 summoned local businessmen in Thandwe Township to the district GAD office at the end of September and warned them not to provide financial assistance to the Arakan Army.

Six local people in Thandwe Township have been arrested in recent days, among whom two Arakan League for Democracy (ALD) members were reportedly charged under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act.