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Myanmar security forces punched a U.S. journalist, slapped him and beat him, and held him in custody for a week, he said after three months in detention after being deported to the United States.
Nathan Maung, the 44-year-old editor-in-chief of the news platform of the Kamayut Media network, was arrested on March 9 in a raid and released on June 15. His colleague Hanthar Nyein, who remains in custody, has been severely tortured, as have other people. Maung said he met him in prison.
“They kicked us in the face, hands and shoulders, all the time,” Myanmar-born Maung told CNN. “For every response, we have been beaten. Anything we answered – right or wrong – won us over. For three days, without interruption. ‘
An army spokesman did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment on Maung’s account, with responses from thousands of others arrested since the army’s elected leader was removed from office. Aung San Suu Kyi in February.
The Myanmar military says detainees are being treated in accordance with the law, but that the military is fighting to strengthen control over a country in a riot, journalists were arrested and he began to target lawyers defending political prisoners.
Myanmar security forces arbitrarily arrest thousands of people who rebelled against the military coup in February and many were tortured, beatings and ill-treatment, according to a June 22 report by Human Rights Watch.
“The first three or four days were the worst,” Maung told Reuters in a telephone interview in Virginia.
“They punched me several times. Needless to say, they beat me. They used both hands to slap the eardrums many times. They touched my cheeks on both sides. They touched my shoulders. They wouldn’t let me stand up. I had swollen legs. I couldn’t move anymore, ”he said.
Maung, who was born in Myanmar and fled to the U.S. as a fugitive in the 1990s, said he was arrested at the Kamayut Media office and taken for questioning about his publication, his role there and how he works.
“They handcuffed my hands to the back, tied their eyes with a cloth and covered them with another cloth,” he said.
“They didn’t let me sleep for about three or four days. Continuous interrogation. There was no time to sleep, ”he said. On the fourth day, he said beatings were reduced after learning he was a U.S. citizen.
“On the eighth day, a colonel came, removed the covered cloth from me,” Maung said.
Some “suffered worse torture”
After his release, Maung met with U.S. officials and helped him and his family, the U.S. embassy said.
He expressed constant concern over the arrest American journalist Danny Window, was arrested more than a month ago and given permission to speak to the U.S. embassy for the first time last week, according to his brother Fenster.
Maung said the colonel has recorded his testimony and asked if he should make a statement as the editor has a lawyer to respect his human rights and defend him against the accusations.
The colonel told him he had not been charged with any crime and would be released when the situation calmed down, Maung said.
During his detention, Maung said he met other people who had been abused and heard people shouting, begging and screaming from other buildings.
“Some of them suffered worse torture than we did. For two days someone was in a room with me. The body was covered with bruises and wounds. He put his handcuffs on the table and hit her hand.
“The bones were not broken, but he was badly injured and his skin was ripped off.”
Kamayut Media stopped publishing after his arrest, but Maung said he intended to resume his work.
The activist group of the Association of Political Prisoners Support says more than 6,000 people have been indicted or punished after their arrest since the coup. Security forces have killed at least 883 people since then. The military discusses the figure.
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