Paing Phyo Min (aka De Yay), the leader of an anti-military group called the Anti-Junta Alliance of Yangon, was arrested on Wednesday – as fellow AJAY member Shine Wai Aung was also detained. The two were apprehended by regime troops in Yangon.
Paing Phyo Min’s home was reportedly raided during a household list inspection. “He is a target of the regime. As you know, the military uses inhumane tactics when arresting protest leaders. We are extremely worried for him,” Nan Lin, the co-founder of the University Students’ Union Alumni Force, told DVB.
Paing Phyo Min, 27, was released from prison in an amnesty in 2021. He was sentenced to six years for his role in the Peacock Generation, a group that performed traditional Myanmar thangyat – a type of satirical street theater critical of the military held during the Thingyan New Year festival – prior to the 2021 military coup.
As a student union member, Paing Phyo Min advocated for educational reform in Myanmar and was first arrested for reading a satirical poem that criticized the military during its power-sharing government with Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party in 2019.
Four members of other anti-military protest groups – Zaw Lin Htut (also known as Pho Thar), Aung Min Khine (also known as Mae Kyi), Mya Minzu, and Hinn Ei Khin — were arrested in Yangon on Sept. 19.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) documents that a total of 5,795 people, including pro-democracy activists and civilians, have been killed by the regime and pro-military groups since 2021. At least 27,525 people have been arrested for political reasons since 2021 with 21,028 remaining in detention, added the AAPP.
Remaining members of AJAY called on the international community, and anti-coup resistance groups, to pressure the regime in Naypyidaw to protect the lives of all protestors held in detention, including Paing Phyo Min.