Arakan News Agency
The police in Myanmar announced on Wednesday that they had arrested four people in the killing of a prominent Muslim human rights lawyer who was an adviser to the country’s leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi — a death that raised new concerns about Myanmar’s rocky transition to democracy.
The lawyer, U Ko Ni, was shot in the head leaving Yangon International Airport on Sunday while holding his grandchild. The brazen killing comes as Myanmar struggles to emerge from decades of military dictatorship and grapples with sectarian violence between Buddhists and Muslims.
The police said they had arrested U Myint Swe, whom they accuse of masterminding the killing, near the Thai border. U Kyi Lin, who is accused of being the gunman, was arrested shortly after the shooting. They did not identify the other two in custody.
Officials did not disclose a motive, but the president’s office said on Monday that the killing was carried out to “undermine the country’s stability.”
Mr. Ko Ni, a member of the governing National League for Democracy, was killed as he returned from Indonesia with other government officials and civic leaders to discuss democracy and conflict resolution.
