Burmese Blogger Nay Phone Latt, Mysteriously Missing

by Mizzima News
Friday, 01 February 2008 00:00

The Burmese blogger, Nay Phone Latt, allegedly arrested by the police on Tuesday has mysteriously gone missing, family members complained.

Daw Aye Aye Than, mother of blogger and writer, Nay Phone Latt, said, the whereabouts of her son cannot be confirmed as authorities including police officers in Thuwana and Thingan Kyun police stations and Ministry of Home Affairs deny detaining him.

Daw Aye Aye Than said her son left home on Tuesday at about noon but when they tried to contact him on cell phone at about 1:00 p.m. he could not be contacted.

"And at around 2:30 p.m. the authorities came to our house but did not ask for Nay Phone Latt. They looked around the house. So I think he must have been arrested before they came to us," Daw Aye Aye Than told Mizzima.

She added that the police team led by Maj. Hein Htet while not mentioning their purpose searched around the house, as if looking for someone in hiding.

"We went to the office of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Tingankyun and Thuwana police stations to inquire about him but all the authorities would tell us was they don't know him and he is not here," Daw Aye Aye Than said.

Daw Aye Aye Than said she is worried for her son and could not understand the reason for his mysterious disappearance.

"I am very sad for this kind of unlawful action, I don't understand why they [authorities] are doing this to my son because he is not involved in any illegal activities and does all his work openly," Daw Aye Aye Than said.

Nay Phone Latt, who has a blogsite www.nayphonelatt.blogspot.com, reportedly disappeared on Tuesday. While many of his colleagues believe he has been arrested by the police, there are, so far no eyewitness accounts.

While earlier, some friends said he was taken away by the police from an internet café in Thingan Kyun township in Rangoon, his mother's version indicates that he was arrested while on the road.

While either version cannot be independently verified, it is still uncertain that the authorities have taken him away, as there are no eyewitnesses.