U Myo Myo Kyaw, a member of the Kachin State parliament from the National League for Democracy (NLD), has been killed at a military interrogation center at the headquarters of the Northern Command in Myitkyina, Kachin State, according to his political colleagues and local residents.
The lawmaker won a seat for the NLD in the state legislature representing Mohnyin Township’s Constituency No. 2 in the 2020 general election. He was arrested with Ko Sai Maung, an anti-coup protest leader from Hpa-kant Township, at a checkpoint at the entrance of Myitkyina town on Aug. 24.
The checkpoint, known as the Mile 21 checkpoint, is notorious for stringent checks on travelers by regime soldiers and police. Many political activists have been abducted at the checkpoint, according to local residents.
The pair were arrested after military troops found treasury bonds issued by the shadow National Unity Government (NUG) on their phones, along with photos related to People’s Defense Force resistance groups. Relatives and colleagues said U Myo Myo Kyaw died at the interrogation center after being tortured.
His family was unable to get any information about him for over a month, and only recently learned that he died in the interrogation center, according to his political colleagues.
U Win Naing, a member of the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) who won a seat in the Lower House of the Union Parliament in the 2020 election representing Mogaung Township, announced U Myo Myo Kyaw’s death in a post on Facebook on Friday.
His post reads, “Ko Myo Myo Kyaw has been killed in the interrogation center as he has been badly tortured by the military council, according to reliable sources. His family were not given the body and don’t know the date of death or where his body was cremated.”
A Hpa-kant resident who participated in a protest against the junta military and who is close to Ko Sai Maung told The Irrawaddy they were aware of the death of U Myo Myo Kyaw and had also heard that Ko Sai Maung has been moved from the Northern Command in Myitkyina to another location.
“In the last week, we heard they had both died in the interrogation center, but it wasn’t confirmed. Now we have heard about the death of the MP, but we heard from some authorities that Ko Sai Maung is not in the interrogation camp. I think they have moved him into the prison,” he said.
As of Thursday, 12,462 people had been detained and 2,311 killed in the 20 months since the Feb. 1, 2021 military coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
