Soe Naing death: Myanmar journalist dies in military detention after being arrested for covering protests

Over a hundred journalists and activists have been detained by the junta since it seized power in February

An empty street on Friday in Mandalay, central Myanmar amid a ‘silent strike’ as Soe Naing, a local freelance photographer, died in military custody after being arrested last week while covering the strike (AP)

A freelance photojournalist has died in Myanmar after spending less than a week in military custody, in what is believed to be the first custodial death of a journalist since the military junta seized power in a February coup.

Soe Naing, who worked as a freelance photojournalist and graphic designer, was arrested last week on Friday when he was in Yangon city taking photos of the “silent strike” protests called against military rule.

Over a hundred journalists and activists have been detained by the junta government since the February coup, according to several human rights organisations.

After being arrested, the journalist was sent to a military interrogation centre in Yangon’s eastern Botahtaung township, according to the Associated Press. But on Tuesday, Soe Naing’s family was informed that he had died at the 1,000-bed Defence Services general hospital.

A friend of Soe Naing, who asked not to be identified due to safety concerns, told Reuters that they had been told about the death but had not seen his body. The 30-year-old was married and had a son, according to various local media reports.

The news agency said a spokesperson for the junta did not respond to calls for comment about the death.

Media freedom group Reporters Without Borders, citing sources including a relative, alleged Soe Naing died under interrogation.

It called on the international community to “condemn the escalation in terror against reporters covering the news in Myanmar and implement targeted sanctions against the generals.”

Media organisations and journalists covering the anti-military protests have been a prominent target of the country’s military, which has tightened control over the flow of information, throttled internet access and revoked the licences of local media outlets.

Soe Naing is not the first detainee to have died in custody since the military took over.

Several political activists and members of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party have been reported dead after their arrests. There is, however, no official figure.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a monitoring group cited by the UN, said more than 1,300 people have been killed by security forces since the coup, with over 10,900 civilians detained. These included scores of journalists, with about 40 still under the military’s detention, AAPP said.

The junta has rejected AAPP’s figures, saying they were exaggerated.

Additional reporting by agencies