At least 38 people were detained in Chin State after the Tatmadaw took the power of the country from the National League for Democracy government on February 1, according to Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO).
“They haven’t been charged. They’re being detained without a reason,” Salai Sang Hnin Lian, from CHRO, told Khonumthung News.
Efforts by CHRO to contact the detainees have been denied, he said. While four people were released on February 11.
Many of the detainees are the staff of the state’s Election Commission (EC). The Tatmadaw arrested 21 EC employees, as well as the chief minister, parliamentary speaker and many state ministers.
According to CHRO, two EC officers from Kanpetlet Township are being held in an army camp in Mindat town.
Protests against the coup broke out in all the townships in Chin State. Recently, the military junta has been arresting protest leaders.
Meanwhile, in Hakha, the capital of Chin State, 124 employees from the General Administration Development (GAD) office walked off the job in support of the Civil Disobedience Movement happening across the country.
According to an office employee, who spoke with Khonumthung News on condition of anonymity, senior staff threatened them with legal action if they don’t immediately return to work.
GAD staff in Mindat, Matupi, Kanpetlet, Tedim, and Thangtlang townships have also refused to work until the military regime restores power to the democratic government.