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Ko Ni murder: More suspects arrested, says govt spokesman

More suspects have been apprehended in the case involving the murder of lawyer Ko Ni, according to Burmese government spokesman Zaw Htay.

Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee in Naypyidaw on Monday, Zaw Htay told reporters that an unspecified number of individuals with suspected links to Ko Ni’s killing had been detained by security forces as part of the investigation into the high-profile assassination on 29 January.

However, details of the arrests cannot be presently disclosed to avoid compromising the investigation, said Zaw Htay, who is acting director general of the State Counsellor’s Office and deputy director general of the President’s Office.

“There may be elements behind the scenes that abetted or provided assistance for the assassination, and the authorities are currently investigating this. Some suspects have been detained and brought in for questioning, but we will not be disclosing any details for the time being,” said Zaw Htay.

He said the government is handling the case in a delicate manner and keeping certain information secret to avoid alerting anyone connected to the killing. He said this information will be disclosed to the public when the investigation has been completed.

“We do not wish to alert their [the suspects’] connections, otherwise they could go into hiding or destroy evidence,” Zaw Htay said.

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Ko Ni was a legal adviser to the ruling National League for Democracy and a close confidant of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. On 29 January, he was fatally shot at point-blank range as he stood in a taxi rank outside Yangon International Airport.

The gunman, Kyi Linn, also shot dead a taxi driver who had attempted to chase him down, before he was overpowered by other taxi drivers who had given chase.

DVB reported last week that a second man, thought to be the mastermind behind the assassination, had been arrested close to the Burmese-Thai border.

 

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