Myanmar photographer Soe Naing reportedly dies in army detention

BANGKOK: Myanmar authorities must immediately disclose the status of freelance photographer Soe Naing amid reports he died in detention, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Soldiers took Soe Naing into custody on December 10 after he photographed a protest in Yangon against the country’s military junta government, according to reports by The Associated Press and the local independent outlet The Irrawaddy.

Citing anonymous friends, colleagues, and family members of the photographer, those reports stated that the military yesterday disclosed to his family that Soe Naing had died in custody. Neither report stated any suspected cause of death for the journalist, who was in his 30s.

“Myanmar authorities must immediately account for the whereabouts and status of photojournalist Soe Naing,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “If he died while in military detention, then those responsible must be identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”