On 2 July 2015, in the early hours of the morning, Mr. Johnny was shot dead by unknown assailants in front of his house in Eindea Village, Hpa-an Township. Johnny’s 14-year-old daughter heard shots and found him still breathing before he passed away a few moments later. He was 51 years old and is survived by his wife, daughter and two sons.

Johnny was a land and farmers’ rights defender and Chairman of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Kawthinshu Village. In this capacity he had assisted local farmers in land grab cases over the years. A friend of Johnny’s, Pwint San, told DVB Multimedia “He often took charge in helping local people with their various issues and had made quite a few enemies for his activism. As we were close friends, I had warned him to be cautious, but having spent time in a rebel army in the past, he said it was not to worry about.”

The police have opened an investigation into the killing but no arrests have been made. The World Organisation against Torture has condemned the murder and called on Burmese authorities to adopt urgent measures to protect the lives of human rights defenders.