Fears are growing over the fate of a prominent monk and rights activist who has not been seen since completing a four-year prison sentence last week.
U Thawbita, aka Alinka Kyal, 39, was due for release from Obo Prison on June 20, the Sangha Union in Mandalay said in a statement on Tuesday.
He was arrested by soldiers at Bawa Alin Yaung monastery in Chan Mya Tharsi Township, Mandalay, at around 4 am on the day of the coup, February 1, 2021.
He was found guilty of a 2018 charge of defaming commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing and sentenced to two years in jail for breaching Section 66 (d) of the Telecommunications Law.
A prison court added another two years after finding him guilty of disseminating ‘fake news’ in violation of section 505 (a) of the Penal Code.
U Thawbita was due for release from Obo Prison last week on Monday. However, neither his family nor his monastery have heard from him since then.
A lawyer in Mandalay confirmed that the monk was no longer in the prison, explaining his sentence had been commuted by eight months.
“We also checked with staff in the prison and reliable people who are close to the guards, and we know he was no longer in the prison after June 20,” a monk from the Sangha Union in Mandalay said. “No one knows where he was taken by junta troops,” he added.
The monks’ union expressed deep concern over his fate, pointing out that he had been missing for over a week and neither family nor friends had been in contact with him.
U Thawbita is known for his outspoken defense of people’s rights and the rule of law in Myanmar.
The monks’ union said he had been closely monitored by the military even under the previous elected civilian government, adding the junta may harbor a huge grudge against him.
The military regime has arrested at least 111 Buddhist monks, 94 of whom remain behind bars, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
