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MANDALAY (REUTERS) – At least 147 people have been detained in Myanmar since this week’s coup, including activists, lawmakers and officials from the ousted Aung San Suu Kyi government, the Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners (AAPP) said on Thursday.
The AAPP, which has followed political detainees in Myanmar since the previous junta era, said 133 officials or legislators and 14 civil society activists were in detention.
Meanwhile, authorities arrested at least three people on Thursday (February 4) after a protest in the second-largest city of Mandalay against this week’s coup, activist groups said.
The rally was the first street protest of its kind against the army’s takeover this week that toppled the elected administration of Ms. San Suu Kyi.
The arrests were confirmed by student activists from three groups, based in Mandalay and Yangon.
Images on social media showed protesters waving banners and chanting slogans against the coup in Mandalay.
A video on Facebook showed about 20 people outside of Mandalay Medical University.
A banner read: “People protest against the military coup.”
“Our leaders arrested, let go now, let go now,” the protesters chanted.
Myanmar’s military seized power on Monday, overthrowing elected people’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is in custody and now faces possible charges for import violations for the alleged possession of six unauthorized walkie-talkies.
The junta has a record of bloody suppression of street protests in Myanmar.
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