Social activist, former election candidate arrested in Thandwe and facing terrorism charges

By DMG 10 Oct 2021

DMG Newsroom
10 October 2021, Sittwe 

U Sein Chit, a social activist and one-time parliamentary hopeful in Thandwe town, Arakan State, was arrested at his home late on Saturday evening, family members said. 

Members of the Thandwe Township police station and Military Security Affairs detained him at about 10 p.m. on October 9, but U Sein Chit’s wife Daw Khin Hnin Phyu said she did not know the reason for his arrest. 

“I do not know what section he has been charged with. I heard that he will be remanded in custody,” she told DMG. 

An officer from the Thandwe police station said a case has been opened against U Sein Chit under Sections 50(a) and 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law. 

“He was arrested for having ties to the PDF [People’s Defense Force] members who were arrested in Maubin town in Ayeyarwady Region,” the police officer told DMG, referring to one of the numerous anti-regime PDF militias that have formed since the military’s February 1 coup. 

Some people who have had close contact with U Sein Chit have reportedly gone into hiding as they fear they too are being hunted by authorities. 

U Sein Chit ran in the 2020 general election as a candidate of the Arakan Front Party for the Arakan State Hluttaw’s No. 2 constituency in Thandwe Township, but he did not win the seat.