Second Myanmar official dies after arrest, junta steps up media crackdown
An official from deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) died in custody after he was arrested early on Tuesday, the second party figure to die in detention in two days, as security forces broke up street protests against the military junta.
Police also cracked down on independent media, raiding the offices of two news outlets and detaining two journalists.
Myanmar has been in crisis since the army ousted Suu Kyi's elected government in a coup on Feb. 1, detained her and other NLD officials, and set up a ruling junta of generals.
The NLD's Zaw Myat Linn died in custody on Tuesday after he was arrested in the country's main city of Yangon around 1:30 a.m., said Ba Myo Thein, a member of the dissolved upper house of parliament.
"He's been participating continuously in the protests," Ba Myo Thein said. The cause of death was not clear.
In a Facebook live broadcast before he was detained, Zaw Myat Linn urged people to continue fighting the army, "even if it costs our lives."
"Their power must never last," he said.
Neither the military nor the police responded to calls for comment.
Zaw Myat Linn is the second NLD official to have died in custody in the last two days. Khin Maung Latt, who had worked as a campaign manager for an NLD MP elected in 2020, died after he was arrested on Saturday night.