ICC Note
On May 28th, three ethnic Kachin men’s bodies were found with gun shot wounds and signs of torture. These men, along with two others were taken into custody by government troops, three being tortured and brutally murdered and the other two were released back to their camp after being tortured. The ethnic Kachin people are a predominately Christian group that is heavily persecuted by the Buddhist government in Southeast Asia.
2017-05-31 Asia (RFA) A senior police official in northern Myanmar’s Kachin state said on Monday that authorities will investigate the deaths of three ethnic Kachin men found murdered after being detained last week by government troops.
Nhkum Gam Awng, 31, Maran Brang Seng, 22, and Labya Naw Hkum, 27, were taken into custody on May 25 by soldiers from infantry unit 319 while returning to their refugee camp after gathering firewood near Hka Pra Yang village, sources told RFA’s Myanmar Service.
Their bodies were found three days later in nearby Maikaung village, sources said.
Speaking to RFA, Kachin state police chief Tun Oo said that police have now opened an investigation into their deaths.
“The place where they were found is unsafe, and police don’t usually go there,” Tun Oo said, adding that land mines have reportedly been scattered through the area.
“But because of what has happened, we were able to go there with the help of local people who know their way around the area.”
“We are now conducting autopsies, and will work to discover whoever is responsible [for the deaths].”
The three who were killed had been detained with two others, who were released and returned to their camp after briefly being held, according to a May 30 report by Agence France-Press.
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