Attachments
This Incident Report describes two events that occurred in Htaw Ta Htoo Township, Taw Oo (Toungoo) District, in April and August of 2023. On April 25th 2023, a married couple, Maung A--- and Ma B---, were arrested at the State Administration Council (SAC) Infantry Battalion (IB) #73 checkpoint which is located in Zayet Gyi Taung Chaung village tract, Htaw Ta Htoo Township, when they were going back to their village, after purchasing some goods in the town. Their family members did not receive notification regarding the reason for their arrest. However, their family believes that the couple were arrested because the SAC soldiers thought they had connections with the People’s Defence Force (PDF). Since their arrest, the couple has disappeared. Similarly, in August 2023, the same SAC IB #73 soldiers arrested Ko C--- at Shway Kyaung Kone Kwet Tit village, Zayet Gyi Taung Chaung village tract, while Ko C--- and his family members were heading to a displacement camp for shelter. He has been missing since then. No one knows why he was arrested. However, his brother, U D---, is a member of an armed resistance group and believes that the SAC arrested Ko C--- because they could not arrest U D---.[1]
Excerpt
Part 3 – Complete Description of the Incident
Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.
Arrest in April 2023 of Maung A--- and Ma B---:
On April 25th 2023, two villagers from E--- village, Zayet Gyi Taung Chaung village tract, Htaw Ta Htoo Township, named Maung A--- (34 years old), and his wife, Ma B--- (34 years old), went to Zayet Gyi Town to purchase some goods to sell. On their way back to E--- village, they were checked and arrested at the State Administration Council’s (SAC) Infantry Battalion (IB) #73 checkpoint, in Zayet Gyi Taung Chaung village tract. [As explained by the interviewees, they believe that] the people who arrested the couple are Sergeant Thet Khaing, Sergeant Myin Htu Zaw, from IB #73, and Deputy District Attorney’s Surveillance Officer Aung Ko Win, from Zayet Gyi Police Station, [because the three perpetrators have arrested villagers before and IB #73 is the only battalion that is active in the area].
According to villagers, the couple were accused of having connections with the People’s Defence Force (PDF)[12] by the SAC, and were arrested by the SAC soldiers. Though they were only purchasing goods for themselves to sell [later], they were [allegedly] accused of supplying rations to the PDF. People who passed by the IB #73 [checkpoint] saw Maung A---’s motorcycle in front of IB #73 [checkpoint]. Therefore, villagers were certain that the couple were arrested [because the couple have been missing since the incident]. There has been no information given about them from the SAC since the two were arrested. When the KHRG researcher asked about the current situation of the couple to U D--- [the village administrator of E--- village], he responded that [he believed] the couple were arrested, tortured, and killed [because he thinks that the SAC believed the couple were selling goods to PDF soldiers since they were merchants. He also added that, for the SAC, this could be a reason to arrest, torture and kill].
Following the incident, the mother of Maung A--- faced livelihood difficulties. She is also worried for her son and her daughter-in-law as she has not been able to contact them [since their arrest].
Arrest of Ko C--- in August 2023:
In August [unknown date] 2023, SAC soldiers arrested Ko C---, a E--- villager, at Zayet Gyi Shway Kyaung Kone Kwet Tit village, Zayet Gyi Taung Chan village tract, Htaw Ta Htoo Township, while he was heading, together with his family members, to a camp for Internally Displaced People (IDPs). [Ko C--- was separated from other family members at the time of his arrest, including his wife, Ma G---.] He is the youngest brother of the village administrator of E--- village, named U D---, and the husband of Ma G---. Those who arrested him are Sergeant Thet Khaing and Sergeant Myit Htoo Zaw from the SAC IB #73 and Deputy District Attorney’s Surveillance Officer Aung Ko Win from Zayet Gyi Police Station [as witnessed by Ma G---, who reported it to U D---]. [Reportedly,] the SAC accused Ko C--- of having contact with the PDF thus, they arrested him and killed him. [U D--- believes that the SAC killed his brother because U D--- is a member of an armed resistance group (name not given) and he is blacklisted by the SAC. Therefore, he believes that his younger brother, Ko C---, was arrested because the SAC were not able to arrest him. In addition, he believes that his brother is dead because the SAC has arrested villagers before and they were never seen again after they were arrested].
[At the time of the arrest,] Ma G---, Ko C---’s wife, was eight months pregnant and she encountered difficulties [in her livelihood]. She received support from her relatives as she was struggling to support her five children. From the day Ko C--- was arrested, he was announced dead [by his family].