IPU statement on the death of Myanmar MP Mr. Aung Soe Min
The IPU strongly condemns the apparent murder of Mr. Aung Soe Min, an elected Myanmar parliamentarian, who is reported to have died earlier this year after being tortured while in detention.
According to the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), a group of exiled legislators from the last Myanmar Parliament elected in 2020, Mr. Aung Soe Min was arrested in December 2024 by the military authorities and held in an interrogation camp.
In April 2025, the IPU Governing Council adopted a decision highlighting the persecution of at least 18 Myanmar MPs, including Mr. Aung Soe Min. It urged parliamentarians worldwide to support those MPs who remained in prison or who had been forced into hiding and exile. The decision also called on MPs to hold to account those responsible for crimes against humanity in Myanmar.
In a recent development, in July 2025, the military authorities put in place a new law foreseeing 20-year prison sentences for any protest aimed at elections planned for December 2025. The CRPH and the exiled National Unity Government have rejected the election plans as “a fraud”.
The IPU and the global parliamentary community stand in solidarity with Myanmar’s elected parliamentarians and offer their deepest condolences to the family, friends and constituents of Mr. Aung Soe Min.
The IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians defends MPs who face abuse or mistreatment, or whose lives are at risk. The only international mechanism with such a remit, the Committee is currently examining the cases of some 900 MPs in danger around the world, including 47 Myanmar MPs, following the 2021 military coup.
Myanmar's national flag flutters at half-mast outside the City Hall in Yangon. AFP
