NGO calls for immediate release of detained analysts on Myanmar, respect due process

Mizzima

Fortify Rights has called for the immediate release of detained analysts on Myanmar, noting the recent arrests of U.S. citizens highlight the risks facing researchers, analysts, and civil society, in a press release on 17 June.

The following is the NGO’s press release:

Chinese authorities and the Myanmar military junta should immediately release U.S. citizens Min Zin and Adam Castillo or promptly present credible evidence of a recognizable criminal offense and guarantee their due process rights, Fortify Rights said today. The Myanmar military junta’s detention of researcher Adam Castillo and the Chinese authorities’ detention of Myanmar analyst Min Zin raise serious concerns about the use of arbitrary detention and broadly defined security-related laws to target civil society actors, researchers, and analysts. The detentions come as Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing begins a five-day visit to China, where he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss trade and bilateral relations.

“The detention of researchers and analysts raises concerns that extend beyond these individual cases,” said Benedict Rogers, Senior Director at Fortify Rights. “China and Myanmar should not treat research, analysis, or engagement on public affairs as a threat to national security. These cases risk further shrinking civic space and discouraging independent inquiry and debate.”

Chinese authorities reportedly detained Min Zin in Kunming, Yunnan Province, on June 3, 2026, and later accused him of engaging in espionage activities that endanger China’s national security. Authorities have provided little additional information about the basis for his detention.

Separately, the Myanmar junta reportedly detained U.S. citizen Adam Castillo upon his return to Myanmar on June 12. The circumstances surrounding both detentions remain unclear.

Min Zin was a student activist during the 1988 pro-democracy movement and later went to the U.S. for graduate studies, becoming a U.S. citizen. He is currently the executive director of the Myanmar Institute for Strategic and Policy Studies (ISP-Myanmar), a Thailand-based think tank. ISP-Myanmar also maintains a dedicated China Studies program and has published research on China’s political and economic influence in Myanmar, including analyses of China-Myanmar border trade, Beijing’s role in Myanmar’s post-coup landscape, and rare earth mining linked to exports to China.

Adam Castillo is the former President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar, and author of Finding our Voice, an account of post-coup life in Myanmar. At the time of his detention at Yangon International Airport, Adam Castillo was returning from an international tour promoting his book. Prior to his detention, Castillo had publicly advocated for greater U.S. engagement with Myanmar’s military junta, including a more active U.S. policy toward Myanmar and greater attention to the country’s rare earth mineral resources.

The cases reflect broader concerns regarding the use of national security and other broadly defined laws in China and Myanmar. On June 26, 2020, nearly 50 U.N. independent experts expressed concern over the human rights situation in China, including the repression of human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, and other critical voices, and warned that restrictive national security, anti-terrorism, and other laws were being used to undermine fundamental freedoms.

Fortify Rights has repeatedly documented and condemned the Chinese government’s use of restrictive security laws and other measures to suppress fundamental freedoms, silence critics, and target journalists, human rights defenders, students, religious leaders, and other independent voices. In Myanmar, military junta officials have arbitrarily detained tens of thousands of people since the February 2021 coup.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 31,000 arrests have been documented since the February 2021 coup, with approximately 14,000 people remaining in detention to date. The military junta has also detained several foreign nationals, including U.S. journalist Danny Fenster, Australian economist Sean Turnell, former British ambassador and Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business Director Vicky Bowman, and Japanese filmmaker Toru Kubota.

The junta also continues to detain Myanmar journalists and activists, including Sai Zaw Thaike, a photojournalist at Myanmar Now, who is serving a 20-year sentence, and Wai Moe Naing, a pro-democracy activist from Sagaing Region, sentenced to 74 years in jail.

“China and Myanmar continue to rely on detention to silence independent voices and suppress peaceful dissent,” said Benedict Rogers. “Both China and Myanmar should immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and end the use of arbitrary detention as a tool of repression.”