Myanmar coup: Party official dies in custody

Aung San Suu Kyi party official died in Myanmar after being arrested during raids by security forces in Yangon.

On Sunday, the body of U Khin Maung Latt was released to his family, who was told to be  after fainting. While the photos show a blood-stained cloth around the 58-year-old’s head.

Activists say he was beaten while being held by police and soldiers and subjected to harsh interrogation.

Demonstrations continue against last month’s coup despite bloody repression.

What happens and why?

The UN says more than 50 people have been killed since the army detained Ms. Suu Kyi, the democratically elected leader of Myanmar, on February 1.

Authorities dug up the body of one victim, 19-year-old Kyal Sin, and said she was not killed by police because she was shot from behind.

Photos of the protests show that her head was turned away from the police.

Teenager mourns in Myanmar over ‘everything will be fine.’

In another development, the military rulers asked neighboring India to return several police officers who had crossed the border after refusing to carry out orders.

How did U Khin Maung Latt die?

He has actively campaigned for candidates from Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) in recent general elections and was also known for his welfare work, reports The Irawaddy.

According to witnesses from the newspaper, he was violently beaten and kicked on Saturday around 22:00 (15:30 GMT) before being taken out of his house.

On Sunday morning, his family was notified that he was dead after they “fainted,” and they took his body to a military hospital.

U Tun Kyi, of the Former Political Prisoners’ Association, told the AFP news agency: “He has been beaten and taken in a raid since last night, and it looks like he has been subjected to harsh interrogation.”

A local NLD official in a town in the Magwe region, U Htway Naing, was reportedly hacked to death by army supporters. Police conducted other raids in Yangon on Saturday.

UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews told the BBC that a video from various parts of Myanmar showed security forces repeatedly firing on buildings while they were being arrested.

“And you can see them walking through the streets in Yangon and shooting up through the windows while people look on the street in horror,” he said.

“These are gangs. These are criminal activities. They are terrorizing these neighborhoods. So there is a compelling reason for the world to act and for the world to act now.”