Prominent Baptist pastor in military-ruled Myanmar detained again hours after release from prison ========== Prominent Baptist pastor Hkalam Samson, former head of the Kachin Baptist Convention and chairman of the Kachin National Consultative Assembly, was detained by the authorities just hours after he was released from prison under an amnesty by the military government. Kachin state, in northern Myanmar, has been the scene of intermittent warfare between the army and Kachin guerrillas. Samson had been warmly welcomed by family and friends outside the gate of the prison in the Kachin state capital, Myitkyina, when he was released early Wednesday afternoon. At around 10 p.m. Wednesday night, security forces and officials came to his home in the city and took him away. Samson's wife and a member of the Kachin-based Peace-talk Creation Group were also taken to Myitkyina prison. Samson is a prominent advocate of the human rights of ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar and was detained in December 2022 and handed a six-year prison term in April last year. Human rights groups said minority religions, including Christians, have been significantly persecuted in Myanmar since the military takeover in 2021. Kachin guerrillas have played a large role in the resistance movement against military rule. In March, another Baptist pastor from the Kachin Baptist Convention was shot dead. The military government also announced that former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest as a health measure due to a heat wave. #Myanmar #BaptistPastor #Detention #HumanRights #KachinEthnicMinority https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/18/myanmar-religion-baptist-kachin-human-rights-christian/86c2eb1e-fd82-11ee-87ac-20f7e67cbe29_story.html