Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Authorities in Myanmar arrested an aide of ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday night, in a continuing crackdown that followed the military's forced takeover earlier this week.
The aide, Win Htein, an influential leader in the former National League for Democracy ruling party, faces charges of sedition for criticizing military chief Min Aung Hlaing.
Htein was detained overnight after returning from the capital Naypyitaw. Htein had previously said in media interviews that Hlaing, whose family has become wealthy in recent years, was acting on "personal ambitions."
Htein, 79, said a military coup would lead to economic decline for Myanmar.
"[The coup] is clearly not in the public interest," Htein said on Monday, the day of the takeover. "We have witnessed how our country became impoverished and a pariah state due to the previous coups in 1962 and 1988."
Htein, a longtime NLD supporter who's been jailed under previous military regimes, faces up to 20 years in prison on the new charge.
Suu Kyi was arrested Monday and later charged with illegally possessing two-way radios that violated import laws. She has not been seen in public since.
The coup was based on claims by the military that parliamentary elections last fall, in which Suu Kyi's NLD party won a landslide victory, were fraudulent.
More than 130 officials and lawmakers related to the NLD have also been arrested, said the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a human rights group that advocates for political prisoners in Myanmar.
On Friday, teachers in Yangon gathered to protest the coup, wore red ribbons and raised three fingers as a salute that's common among demonstrators.
The United Nations Security Council voiced "deep concern" on Thursday about Suu Kyi's "arbitrary detention," and called for "continued support of democratic transition in Myanmar."
The Security Council stressed a "need to uphold" democratic institutions and processes, "refrain from violence and fully respect human rights," as well as fundamental freedoms and the rule of law.
