By Joshua Carroll
YANGON, Myanmar
A team investigating the death of a Myanmar journalist allegedly tortured and killed by the military has denied he was "ill treated" prompting calls for a new inquiry from his family's lawyer.
Witnesses said that Par Gyi's body showed clear signs of torture when it was exhumed from a shallow grave in eastern Mon State last month.
But the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, which last month was ordered by President Thein Sein to compile a report into the death, said other witnesses denied he was mistreated "physically or mentally" after being detained by soldiers Sep. 30.
"This report is not fair and free," Robert Sann Aung, the family's lawyer, told The Anadolu Agency Wednesday.
"We will write to Thein Sein and ask for a new inquiry."
He added that the commission refused to interview Than Dar, Par Gyi's wife, who was present for the exhumation and spoke to an official who she says saw her husband in custody showing signs of torture.
"She wanted to talk to them but they wouldn't allow her," he said.
Par Gyi, also known as Aung Kyaw Naing, was covering clashes between government troops and ethnic Karen rebels near Myanmar's southeastern border with Thailand shortly before he disappeared.
The military says it shot him four days later after he tried to steal a gun and escape, but it remained silent about the killing until weeks later.
The military also says he had been working for the rebels.
His wife denies that claim, and along with rights groups believes her husband was tortured to death by soldiers before being hastily buried in an unmarked grave.
Last month she told AA that she did not believe the men in charge of her husband's autopsy would be able to report their findings freely because of government pressure.
Both Britain and the United States have called for a transparent investigation after Par Gyi's death was made public.
The National Human Rights Commission has been accused by activists and experts in the past of a pro-government bias.
Its report on Par Gyi's death, published Tuesday, did confirm witness's claims that he had broken ribs, but failed to elaborate on how he got those injuries.
www.aa.com.tr/en
