A Myanmar model and actress was released from detention last night, one day after she was abducted at gunpoint from her Yangon home by security forces in and out of uniform.
With marks on her face and a bloody lip, a tearful Thin Thin thanked those who expressed concern for her safety after she was handcuffed and arrested Tuesday night by about 50 troops and paramilitaries in Yangon’s Tamwe Township.
“I hope I’ll be free of this bad karma soon,” she said through tears.
The men who showed up said they came to the outspoken military critic’s door at about 11pm Tuesday, ostensibly to check her overnight guest list.
She said she was apprehended and interrogated about her past protest activities, and subjected to coarse insults. She said she refused to answer their questions. She also stated that she was rescued by local administrative officers.
She live streamed her abduction as it happened Tuesday night. The footage begins with her negotiating several minutes with a group of men demanding she unlock her apartment’s front door to let them in to see the guest list all residents are required to maintain.
After she relents and opens the door, saying she will comply, a masked man in a plaid shirt and flip-flops with a rifle slung over his shoulder approaches her. Soon, someone grabs her phone and a struggle ensues before the video ends.
Tin Tin was a little-known model until her rape accusations against actor Wai Lu Kyaw cast her into the limelight in early 2021. After the coup, she participated in protests against military rule and spoke out against the junta on social media.
She told her followers in a live broadcast before she was taken away that plainclothes gunmen had raided her flat and beat her up last July.
The military has not published any information about her detention. Her video has since been removed from her feed.
