Ousted member of parliament dies in Myanmar junta custody

Aung Soe Min, a parliamentary representative from southern Shan State, has died in custody five months after military authorities detained him, according to the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH). The CRPH, a body made up of elected, civilian members of parliament (MPs) overthrown by the military in 2021, announced the ousted lawmaker’s death on June 4. A member of the Pyithu Hluttaw—Myanmar’s lower house of parliament—Aung Soe Win represented the Ywangan constituency in southern Shan State’s Danu Self-Administered Zone before the military coup. He was arrested on December 18, 2024, while hiding at a house near Pyin Oo Lwin, Mandalay Region and taken to a military interrogation centre. He died five months later, one of his friends said. “We told him to hide at first, but the head administrator of the village said nothing would happen to him,” the friend said. “We said not to trust the administrator and to hide somewhere else, but he was caught soon after.” With the help of an escapee from the Pyin Oo Lwin Myoma police station, Aung Soe Min was able to relay messages and requests to the outside, making it possible for his friend to send needed items to him in custody, the friend said. He and Aung Soe Min’s family learned of his death later, after hearing authorities had transferred him to Mandalay’s Obo Prison. The junta found and arrested Aung Soe Min based on information from a Ywangan local they detained on suspicion of supporting the resistance forces, according to a source close to his family. Aung Soe Min was 47 at the time of his death. A member of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, Aung Soe Min was elected to the Ywangan seat in both 2015 and 2020. “He was in good health. We can assume he died under torture. We don’t know exactly,” Aung Soe Min’s friend said. “He was loyal to the revolution and fulfilled his duties. He was always doing something for the people.” Three lawmakers from regional parliaments have died in prison after being tortured by the junta or deprived of adequate medical treatment, the CRPH said in its June 4 statement on Aung Soe Min’s death. Kyaw Myo Min, a member of the Mon State parliament, was also killed by junta authorities, according to the committee. The CRPH statement also noted that 13 MPs who fled their homes in fear of junta persecution had died due to inadequate medical care and 41 were still in junta custody, while others remain in hiding with their homes sealed off by the military. The CRPH expressed concern for the safety and wellbeing of democratically elected representatives still being held by the junta, including President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. The military council normally does not give information or comments about people they have detained.

Ousted member of parliament dies in Myanmar junta custody

The Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) said 13 of the elected lawmakers unseated in the military coup have died due to inadequate medical care, while 41 are still detained

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