One more protester wounded, arrested in Mandalay protest crackdown dies

One more protester wounded, arrested in Mandalay protest crackdown dies
Published 26 February 2021

One more man wounded by gunshot and arrested in the Strand Road police crackdown on the protestors in Mandalay died at around 3 pm on February 24, his family reported. 

Police and military troops opened fire on the protestors on Strand Road between 38th Street and 41st Street in Mandalay and made arrests on the evening of February 20. 

The police and military used water cannons to disperse people and then use rubber bullets and live rounds of ammunition. As a result, two innocent people were killed by gunshot wounds at the scene. One more beaten person died the following day and the next one arrested died on February 24. 

The latest dead man is named Yazar Aung living Moegaung Ward in Mandalay with his wife and a six-year-old son. 

“When the incident happened on Strand Road, he was arrested by police after his leg was wounded by gunshot. On that day, we didn’t know about this. Only the following day, we knew through online that he was arrested. We inquired but his whereabouts was unknown. He wasn’t in Obo Prison either. Receiving information, he was at Patheingyi Hospital, we went there but he wasn’t. Finally, we met him at a military hospital near 62nd Street. When we met, he was unconscious. His hands were handcuffed to the bed. We went home and at about 3 pm, his mother was contacted and told that he died,” said a family member of his. 

The family demanded his body form authorities but they didn’t allow saying that the body must be cremated immediately as he was infected with Covid-19. 

In the Mandalay crackdown on the protestors on February 20, at least 30 were injured while over 70 were arrested and charged with Section 505 (b) of the penal code.