Arms outstretched, her white robes trailing on the dusty ground as she knelt in front of armed riot officers, Sister Ann Roza Nu Tawng was prepared to pay the ultimate sacrifice as she pleaded with them not to harm protesters marching on the streets to oppose the Myanmar coup.
In the striking image taken on Monday, pictured above, three officers stand over the 45-year-old nun dispassionately, while two of their colleagues also bend down on their knees, hands clasped in a prayer gesture that offers a glint of mercy.
But a later picture, below, reveals the sister’s appeals for restraint were tragically in vain.
Her face, visible for the first time, is contorted with tears and grief as she once more stretches out her arms – this time towards the body of a young man lying face down in the street, blood pooling on the ground from a gunshot wound to the head.
