Families of five detainees from Paletwa Township in Chin State are worried about their safety as they are believed to be in the hands of the army instead of the police.

A local said: “Head of Paletwa Township Police Station filed the case against them. The army will have to hand over them to the police in Sittwe as they have been transferred to Sittwe after being charged under Section 505 (a) of the Penal Code. They are believed to be detained in the army. Families of detainees are concerned as they are unable to meet the detainees.”

The military arrested 18 youth including those working in the CSOs after two bomb explosions in Paletwa Township on May 28th. Later, the military released 13 of 18 detainees.

But the army filed the case against five youth under Section 505 (a) of the Penal Code on June 17th and sent them to Sittwe through Battalion-289 in Paletwa Township the following day.

They collected money for the IDPs in Mindat Township. They are charged under Section 505 (a) of the Penal Code as they are found to transfer money from the Myanmar Economic Bank (MEB) in Paletwa Township to the MEB in Mindat Township.