On 1 November 2017, human rights defender Htay Aung died in a hospital in Mandalay after he was attacked and beaten up by a mob in Naungcho township, northern Shan state, on 28 October 2017. The defender, along with two other colleagues who were also beaten, was heading to a meeting convened by a local village administrator to discuss a land grab case.

Htay Aung is a land rights defender and a member of the National Farmers’ Union of Myanmar, a group actively campaigning to challenge illegal land grabs in northern Shan State. The defender was particularly working on a long-running case in Naungcho township involving 346 acres of land that were seized from 31 households back in 1997.

On 28 October 2017, Htay Aung was on his way to a meeting in the village of Iwine Parhe, in Naungcho township, with other members of the National Farmers’ Union when he was attacked and beaten to death by a mob of about 20 people, including women. Transported to the Mandalay hospital, he died on 1 November 2017. Three persons were detained and questioned by the police before being released.

Front Line Defenders has issued an urgent appeal demanding action on this case, calling on the government of Myanmar to investigate the killing of Htay Aung and bring the perpetrators to justice.