Burmese documentary filmmaker and political activist Pe Maung Same died Monday at the age of 50 due to complications from tuberculosis, just three days after his medical parole from a junta prison, according to his wife Khin Suu Suu Htay.
The son of prominent cartoonist Pe Thein, Pe Maung Same had served as an editor at the Yangon Film School and directed award-winning documentaries prior to his May 18, 2022, arrest and sentence to three years in Kayah state's Loikaw Prison for "unlawful association."
He had been accused of meeting with an ethnic armed group that opposed the junta’s February 2021 coup d’etat.
Khin Suu Suu Htay told RFA Burmese that on April 22, while in Loikaw Prison, Pe Maung Same had “collapsed” and was subsequently “paralyzed below the waist.” He was later diagnosed with tuberculosis – a disease caused by bacterial infection that spreads easily in overcrowded conditions.
“After being transferred several times, he was sent to Insein Hospital [in Yangon] on July 13 via Insein Prison,” she said. He was released on Aug. 16 because of his medical condition while still undergoing treatment and “was moved to a private hospital, where he passed away three days later.”
Prior to being admitted to the private Sakura Hospital on Aug. 16, Pe Maung Same had been “restrained with an ankle iron” at Insein Hospital, she said.
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Local media cited a source with ties to the filmmaker’s family as saying that Pe Maung Same was “beaten and kicked in the back” while interrogated by authorities, and that “inadequate medicine and food” in Loikaw Prison had “further aggravated his condition.” The source said Pe Maung Same had also developed “complications with his heart and kidneys.”
RFA was unable to independently verify the claims.
In January, the journalist and award-winning documentary filmmaker Shin Daewe was sentenced to life in prison for violating Myanmar's Anti-terrorism Law, prompting an outcry from rights groups and members of the media.
Known for her work highlighting the challenges facing Myanmar’s environment and the impact of conflict on civilians following the military’s 2021 coup, the 50-year-old Shin Daewe was arrested on Oct. 15 in Yangon’s North Okkalapa township while picking up a video drone she had ordered online to use in filming a documentary.
According to his family, Pe Maung Same’s funeral will be held on Aug. 21 at the Yae Way Cemetery in Yangon.
Translated by Kalyar Lwin. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.