Second death of official from Aung San Suu Kyi's party raises fears of Myanmar military detention

An official from ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party has died in custody following alleged torture, the second such death while in detention of junta forces this week, according to a watchdog group.

The deaths have raised concerns about the condition and treatment detainees are receiving in detention. Since the military seized power in a coup on February 1, security forces quickly moved to stifle dissent and arrested government officials, protesters, journalists, civil servants and NGO workers, and repressed independent media. Many people have been taken arbitrarily in nighttime raids and their families do not know where their loved ones are, or what condition they are in, the United Nations said. Human Rights Watch said that people who are forcibly disappeared are more likely to be subjected to torture or ill-treatment than others arrested.