A freelance photojournalist in Myanmar died in military custody after being arrested last week while covering protests. Soe Naing is the first journalist to have died in custody since the army seized power in February, which has led to the ousting of the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. More than 100 journalists have been detained since then, though about half have been released.
Naing 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 were asked to stay at home and businesses to shut down for six hours.
Naing is not the first 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 Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party. The bodies were found in several cases where they bore marks that suggested the individuals had been tortured, according to human rights activists.
The military-installed government has tried to clamp down on the free flow of information, and journalists have been targeted for arrest. Many outlets have had to close or operate underground, with their staffs always at risk of arrest, despite detaining media workers.
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.
After his arrest, Naing was sent to a military interrogation center in Yangon's eastern Botahtaung Township, according to colleagues familiar with his case. His family was informed Tuesday morning that he died at the 1,000-bed Defense Service General Hospital in Mingaladon Township, according to the relatives and a family friend who spoke on condition of anonymity, as giving such information could make him targets for arrest.
Interrogation centers across Myanmar have been using torture to treat detainees since the army took over.
The freedom of the press organization Reporters Without Borders tweeted that the group was appalled to learn that freelance photoreporter Soe Naing, abducted by the military while covering a silent protest in Yangon on Friday, died in custody this morning after a violent interrogation. Naing is survived by his wife and a four-year-old son. The situation of the photographer arrested with him was not known.
He had been arrested on 11 December, right after he had given a report that claimed soldiers had carried out arson on the homes of three supporters of Suu Kyi's party.