Many people have been randomly taken in night raids and their families do not know where their loved ones are or what condition they are in, according to the United Nations. Human Rights Watch said people who have been forcibly disappeared are more likely to be tortured or ill-treated than others who have been arrested.
Zaw Myat Lynn of the National League for Democracy (NLD) died in custody on Tuesday after being arrested in Yangon’s largest city, Reuters reported, citing deposed MP Ba Myo Thein.
The Watchdog group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) released a statement saying that “Zaw Myat Lynn, who was the head of an education institute, was pronounced dead today from injuries related to torture following a random nighttime robbery.”
The exact cause of death is still unknown, but AAPP added that Zaw Myat Lynn was beaten.
Shortly before his arrest, Zaw Myat Lynn posted a live stream on Facebook saying, “I want to encourage all citizens across the country to protest the dictatorship day and night for 24 hours.”
He urged the people to continue fighting the military, saying, “We will risk our lives to defeat them.”
“We show the international communities, including the UN and other agencies, that we citizens of Myanmar want democracy and that we value democracy as the most precious thing in our lives,” he said.
It follows the death of Khin Maung Latt, an NLD party chairman from Yangon, who was killed in captivity on Saturday.
“On the night of his arrest, Khin Maung Latt was tortured to death in his cell,” AAPP said in a press release. Reports of bruises on Khin Maung Latt’s head and body suggested he had been abused, NLD lawmaker Ba Myo Thein told Reuters.
CNN cannot independently verify this report, and the details surrounding the deaths of Zaw Myat Lynn and Khin Maung Latt are not immediately clear.
Rights groups have called on the military junta led by the coup leader General Min Aung Hlaing to promptly and impartially investigate the dead.
“Myanmar’s junta is leading the security forces and can quickly find out who killed Khin Maung Latt if they choose,” Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. “If they are to demonstrate their belief in the rule of law, all those responsible must be held accountable. Sadly, Myanmar’s security forces appear to be planning to use night raids and brutal assault to spread fear and popular resistance to the military. to break rule. ”
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military took power, detained state adviser Suu Kyi and formed a new junta to run the country. For more than a month, protesters across Myanmar have been found to be in their thousands daily opposing the military rule.
Security forces have responded with increased violence and brutality. Witnesses have reported extrajudicial killings, while footage and photos show police and military shooting anti-coup protesters and beating prisoners.
At least 54 people were killed in the protests, according to the UN, although activists say the number is higher. AAPP said 1,939 people have been arrested, charged or convicted since the coup.
The offices of Myanmar media outlets Mizzima and Kamayut Media were raided by security forces on Tuesday afternoon, the editors of the publications told Myanmar Now.
No personnel were detained in Mizzima, but a family member said Kamayut’s co-founder and editor-in-chief have been arrested by security forces, Myanmar Now reports.
Myanmar Now’s founder said on Monday that their own offices were raided. Myanmar Now and Mizzima are among the five media outlets whose publishing licenses have been stripped.
“They confiscated computers, printers, and parts of the editorial office’s data server,” said Lei Win, adding that no one was in the office at the time and since the coup.
“It was clearly done in a very public way. Witnesses saw the security forces storm the building where the office was, and there was a display of power that might be trying to send a message,” she said.
CNN’s Sophie Jeong and Pauline Lockwood contributed to the reporting.