Media Interviews Myanmar: Photographer who captured the protests is the second person to die in military custody A photojournalist known for recording protests against the February 2021 military coup… 09/08/2022 12:33

Injured journalist’s body

On the day of Aye Kyaw’s arrest, a convoy of six military vehicles arrived at her home at 2 a.m., claiming they had received a “clue” that weapons were hidden at the scene, the journalist’s family reported to RFA.

A family friend, who declined to be named, told the vehicle that the soldiers found nothing in the house, but arrested the photographer anyway.

“The army came in six cars and arrested him. Three of them were outside, three of them entered the field [da residência]”

“[As tropas] They said they would shoot if the door didn’t open. They searched the whole house but found nothing. Nothing.”

Around noon, a government official told Kyaw’s family that he died in prison without any explanation as to what happened or the cause of death.

He said the body was in Sagaing City Hospital and that “they could take it or leave it there if they wanted to.”

A social burial transported the body to be covered by the family, who would bury it the next day.

An anonymous source quoted by the RFA said he saw bruises on Aye Kyaw’s body. “We didn’t see any injuries on her face, but she had dark bruises on the ribs and back,” she said.

International journalism groups accompany the suppression of press freedom in Myanmar. In addition to the media, the military coup in February 2021 also censored civil society.

In June, United Nations (UN) human rights experts signed a joint note denouncing the junta’s attempts to establish a “digital dictatorship” against the country’s population, which includes restrictions on internet access, surveillance and other barriers to free online access.

Also Read | UN condemns ‘digital dictatorship’ imposed by military on Myanmar society

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned Aye Kyaw’s death and called for an investigation into the case:

“Myanmar authorities should immediately disclose whether photojournalist Aung Kyaw died in military custody.

If so, those responsible must be identified and brought to justice.”

Journalist may have been tortured in Myanmar

According to CPJ, Aye Kyaw is at least the fourth journalist killed in Myanmar since the military came to power.

The photographer became known among politicians and local media for recording protests against the dictatorship and other public activities in his home city.

A Sagaing resident, who declined to be named for security reasons, told RFA that people in the town were “living in fear” because of events like Kyaw’s death.

“I worked with Aye Kyaw during the protests in Sagaing and we took pictures together. I feel terrible,” he complained.

Also Read | News agency reporter becomes third journalist convicted in a month in Myanmar

According to the report, there were no signs of external injuries, such as cuts or bullet holes, on the journalist’s body, and therefore believed that his colleague may have died “from excessive torture.”

“What happens here in Sagaing is we see arbitrary arrests and murders when the military comes in and finds something they don’t like.

There is no law. Law comes from the barrel of a gun. They do what they want. As the army approaches, we feel that the death penalty has been imposed.”

At least 2,167 pro-democracy activists and civilians have been killed by the military junta since the coup in Myanmar, according to the Bangkok-based Association for Political Prisoners, an independent human rights watchdog in Asia.

And about 15,000 people were arrested, mostly in peaceful protests against the dictatorship.

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