Yangon (dpa) – The German embassy in Yangon has called on the authorities in Myanmar to ensure that a detained journalist working for the German Press Agency dpa receives “fair and humane treatment.”
Polish journalist Robert Bociaga was arrested by security forces in Taunggyi in the centre of Myanmar on Thursday.
“The Embassy has, also on behalf of the Polish Embassy in Bangkok, formally requested the Myanmar side to inform about the exact whereabouts of the detained Polish citizen, to grant immediate consular access to him, and to give written information about the reason for his detention and charges delivered,” it said in a statement posted on Facebook on Saturday.
The 30-year-old was allegedly beaten and injured during his arrest, a reporter from Khit Thit Media said on Facebook.
Photos showed Bociaga being surrounded by about a dozen uniformed men and protectively holding up his hands.
“As every detainee, he is entitled to legal representation, and as a foreign detainee, to consular protection. The Embassy is expecting from the Myanmar side its adherence to the applicable Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, a swift answer and a fair and humane treatment of the detained person,” said the German Embassy, which also represents the consular interests of Polish citizens in Myanmar.
