A BBC reporter at the media outlet’s Burmese service has been detained in Myanmar as deadly clashes continue between security forces and protestors. According to witnesses, Aung Thura was taken away by men in plainclothes while reporting outside a court in the capital city of Nay Pyi Taw. BBC has expressed that it is extremely concerned over the occurrence, calling on authorities to help locate Thura. Amid reports of torture while in detention, suspicious deaths, and other human rights violations, BBC believes Thura might be in danger.
Thura was taken away alongside another reporter, Than Htike Aung, who works for local news organization Mizzima. Mizzima recently had its operating license revoked by the government. The men who took the journalists arrived in an unmarked van around midday, demanding to see the men. BBC has been unable to get in contact with Aung Thura since. Thura is an accredited journalist with many years of reporting in Nay Pyi Taw.
Read More: BBC journalist Aung Thura detained during Myanmar protests