Soldiers beat up a Chinland Post reporter and four youths returning from an evening demonstration in Hakha and arrested them.
According to a man knowledgeable about the situation, soldiers attacked them in front of the Chin State Administration Council office at 8 pm, March 21, while they were on motorbikes. One man was knocked unconscious after being struck on his head.
The same night protesters gathered in front of the office to demand their release. Authorities released them later in the evening. Some suffered from head and back injuries, as well as broken fingers.
Random protests at night are happening in the Chin State capital despite the threat of escalating violence by police and soldiers making it difficult to gather during the day.
Authorities arrested and charged a member of Chin Center for Peace and Reconciliation (CCPR) and the organization’s driver for violating Article 505/a of Burma’s Penal Code. If convicted, the pair detained since their arrests on March 9 could be sentenced to 3 years. The regime recently modified the law to prosecute the Civil Disobedience Movement.
Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) condemned security forces for arresting and charging people for peacefully protesting. It told Khonumthung News that court proceedings could take at least six months.
According to CHRO, since the junta took over the country, authorities arrested 107 ethnic Chin in Chin and Rakhine states, Sagaing Region and Yangon. Most have been set free, but 20 remain in custody.
Security forces arrested 23 protesters in Hakha on March 1. Four are still behind bars. When the plaintiff’s witness failed to attend the March 19 court proceedings, it was changed to March 31.