On the morning of October 1, Yan Paing, a resident of Pyinmana in Nay Pyi Taw, died while being treated at the 1,000-bed Nay Pyi Taw Hospital for internal injuries after being severely tortured during interrogation, sources confirmed to Mizzima.

He was arrested and interrogated by troops of the junta. He was reportedly tortured by breaking the bones of his hands and legs and becoming deaf.

Yan Paing, 29, a resident of Pyinmana, was arrested at a house in Pyinmana where he had fled to with landmines on May 2. The junta also arrested three other youths for allegedly having links with Yan Paing.

"He was tortured during the interrogation at the beginning. Yan Paing was deafened after being beaten brutally as his answers were different during the interrogation,” a friend close to Yan Paing told Mizzima.

After eight days of torture, he was taken to Nay Pyi Taw Prison.

Yan Paing's family members asked for medical treatment at the prison, but the prison authorities refused their request and the medicine sent to him did not reach the prison, according to his close friends.

"He is taking medicine regularly. He was hospitalized because his medicine did not get to him in prison and was tortured. He could no longer walk,” said a close friend of Ko Yan Naing.

He was admitted to a 1,000-bed hospital in Nay Pyi Taw on 26 September but died on the morning of 1 October due to serious injuries and delay in treatment.

"He was a very passionate man. It was very gratifying to lead and organize strikes with him,” a friend told Mizzima.

Three other youths arrested in connection with the incident are in good health and are currently being held in custody after interrogation.

Aung Myo Min, the Minister for Human Rights of the shadow National Unity Government, said he has been gathering evidence of human rights abuses concerning the death of innocent civilians after their arrest and is working hard to take punitive actions against the junta.

In the eight months since the military coup in Myanmar, 43 people have died during interrogation, eleven have died in prison after being interrogated and 71 have died before being interrogated, according to AAPP records.

Photo: Myanmar soldiers stand guard on a road amid demonstrations against the military coup in Naypyidaw on February 17, 2021. STR / AFP