The Arakan Army (ULA/AA) has not released female journalist Mudra, who remains under investigation one week after her detention, according to Border News Agency (BNA) Editor-in-Chief Ko Kaung Myat Naing.

“As of today, she has not been released. There has been no contact with her parents or family members either. We don’t know why it’s taking so long,” he told Mizzima.

Mu Dra, a BNA reporter, was taken from her home in Maungdaw Township on 20 September by the ULA/AA’s intelligence unit.

AA spokesperson U Khaing Thukha told the Irrawaddy News Agency that the journalist was being questioned for activities deemed harmful to public security, adding that it was “not a formal arrest.”

BNA issued a statement urging that the case be resolved with “foresight and understanding,” and called on those holding Mu Dra to consider her family’s concerns with humanitarian compassion and respect for international law. It also appealed for her swift release.

Ko Kaung Myat Naing said Mu Dra was briefly permitted to meet her father on 22 September, the third day of her detention, and was told she would be released upon higher orders. However, as of 26 September, she remains in custody.

The Independent Myanmar Journalists Association (IMJA) has also called for her immediate release, stressing the essential role of journalists in democratic society and citing international protections for media personnel. It said the AA could set an example by respecting journalists’ rights.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released a statement on 23 September, urging the AA to “immediately release the detained female journalist Mu Dra and allow all journalists in Rakhine State to report freely.”