U Sai Pha, a member of the Shan State resistance movement, the National League for Democracy (NLD) and a Shan scholar, died in a Myanmar prison cell recently at the age of 61. He was arrested under a 1950s-era Emergency Provision Act that outlaws NLD activities in the northern Shan State. U Sai Phat is the third political prisoner in Myanmar to die in captivity since July. For many in Shan State these deaths suggest political assassinations that are being carried out by the Myanmar military. Reports from within the prison describe torture and the denial of access to U Sai Phat’s family and friends. Military officials have stated that U Sai Phat’s death may have been caused by cerebral malaria.
