A Thandwe Township resident has been detained on charges under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code for allegedly assisting in the release of locals arrested during an anti-military protest in Thandwe in the third week of February 2021.

The arrestee was identified as Ko Han Myo Thurein, 26, from Jeittaw village in the Ngapali region of Thandwe Township. He was charged under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code in connection with the release of detainees during an anti-military protest in Thandwe in February of last year.

Ko Han Myo Thurein was reportedly physically assaulted by a police officer after he helped a local man from Jeittaw ward whose motorcycle was stolen on February 12, Ma Myo Tinzar Tun, an elder sister of Ko Han Myo Thurein, told DMG.

Two policemen from the Thandwe Township police station came and arrested Ko Han Myo Thurein at the Jeittaw police station, she added.

“He was arrested at Jeittaw police station,” she said. “Ko Han Myo Thurein was bullied by the police at the police station. We filed a case against the police for allegedly injuring his head with a motorbike key. While we were opening the case, Section 505(b) of the Penal Code was filed against him and he was arrested by the Thandwe police station.”

U Chan Min Latt, deputy township administrator, filed a lawsuit against Ko Han Myo Thurein, who is currently being held at Thandwe’s Myoma police station and is slated to appear before the local court on February 28.

DMG contacted the Thandwe police station by telephone about the circumstances of Ko Han Myo Thurein’s arrest and a family member’s claim that he had been physically assaulted, but an unidentified individual who picked up the phone said, “Please come to the police station.”

Ko Han Myo Thurein is an active participant in civil society organisations in Arakan State as well as being a human rights trainer for NGOs.