ND Burma
ND-Burma formed in 2004 in order to provide a way for Burma human rights organizations to collaborate on the human rights documentation process. The 13 ND-Burma member organizations seek to collectively use the truth of what communities in Burma have endured to advocate for justice for victims. ND-Burma trains local organizations in human rights documentation; coordinates members’ input into a common database using Martus, a secure open-source software; and engages in joint-advocacy campaigns.
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Pathein Prison inmates face new abuses in wake of recent unrest
/in NewsThe wife of a political prisoner connected to the outbreak of violence at the prison late last week has also reportedly been targeted
Political detainees inside Pathein Prison in Ayeyarwady Region have been hit by new restrictions following a recent outbreak of violence, according to a source close to the prison.
On Monday, prison guards shaved the heads of all male political prisoners and confiscated items sent to them by their families, including food and clothing, the source said.
They are now required to wear prison-issue clothing and are only given one meal a day, he added. Care packages are no longer permitted.
On January 6, violence broke out inside the prison after eight inmates were taken from their cells the previous day for staging a protest amid rumours that a condemned prisoner, Kaung Khant Kyaw, was soon to be executed.
Seven of the prisoners were later returned to their cells, but their leader, Mae Gyi, was not among them.
As tensions rose over the incident, prison guards reportedly attacked an inmate with a baton, prompting others who witnessed the assault to rush to his defence.
At least one prisoner, 33-year-old Wai Yan Phyo, was killed in the ensuing melee. In a statement, the regime claimed that he had been beaten to death by fellow inmates.
The statement also blamed the incident on the prisoners, accusing them of attacking prison guards.
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The funeral photo of Wai Yan Phyo, a political detainee killed in the crackdown on a protest at the Pathein Prison (CJ via Radio Free Asia)
Mae Gyi, who is also known as Win Min Htet, has not been seen since he was separated from the other prisoners, raising fears about his safety.
“It would be some consolation to his family if the authorities confirmed whether he was dead or alive,” said Myanmar Now’s source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
On January 7, junta troops reportedly arrested Sandar Aye, the wife of political prisoner Win Htun Aung, who was among the eight inmates who joined the protest led by Mae Gyi.
The reason for her arrest remains unclear, but there were concerns that she was being targeted as retaliation for her husband’s alleged role in stoking unrest.
On Sunday, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) released a statement condemning the junta’s treatment of Pathein Prison inmates as a violation of the UN Convention Against Torture.
“This is even worse than what we have heard of from other prisons,” an AAPP official told Myanmar Now. “This is a grave criminal offence.”
The AAPP official also noted that the International Committee of the Red Cross has not been permitted to conduct prison inspections since the military seized power nearly two years ago, heightening the likelihood of serious abuses.
There have been a number of instances of prisoners being killed behind bars since the February 2021 coup. In March of last year, seven inmates of Kalay Prison in Sagaing Region were shot dead by prison authorities, allegedly for attempting to escape.
The use of excessive force by prison authorities has long been a problem in Myanmar. In May 2019, a riot inside Shwebo Prison in Sagaing resulted in the deaths of four prisoners.
According to AAPP—which keeps records on political prisoners arrested, sentenced, and released in Myanmar—at least 13,429 civilians throughout the country remain in detention for opposing the military regime as of January 11.
Myanmar Now News
Human Rights Situation weekly update (January 1 to 7, 2023)
/in HR Situation, NewsInfogram
Enforced Disappearance
/in Cartoon Animation, MultimediaUrgent Statement on the Extrajudicial Murder and Brutal Crackdown in Pathein Prison
/in Member statementsDate; Jan 8, 2023
AAPP issues this statement to bring attention to the gross human rights violations perpetrated by the military junta. On the evening of January 5, 2023, a dispute occurred between prison authorities and political prisoners. Eight political prisoners were called out and brought from the compound. Their hands were tied behind their back, and they were savagely kicked and beaten with batons. Following brutal torture several political prisoners were severely injured some of whom are in critical condition, and at least one political prisoner was killed. AAPP strongly condemns these severe crimes of extrajudicial murder and torture in a crackdown.
In Burma since the coup, rule of law and any judicial system have collapsed. The pillars of military rule – judges, soldiers, police, and prison guards are being used by the junta to abuse and torture political prisoners. In fact, in every prison, political prisoners are intentionally tortured and violated.
On January 5, 2022, there was an altercation between political prisoners and prison guards. Prison personnel used excess force to crackdown with brutal beatings on political prisoners who were severely beaten with hands tied behind their back. One political prisoner was killed, and several critically injured. Looking at these events, the torture and extrajudicial killings in Pathein Prison are crimes under the UN Convention Against Torture (UNCAT).
Junta authorities including Pathein Prison Superintendent Nay Min Htet, Pathein City Surveillance Police Station Officer Myint Aung, and Police Station Officer Kyaw Oo, are responsible for Pathein Prison. Those who ordered crimes be perpetrated in Pathein Prison, as well as all other relevant prison officers who personally carried out the violations are responsible and must be held to account.
AAPP condemns these extrajudicial killings and brutal torture which occur daily under military rule and will strive to achieve justice for all political prisoners whose rights have been violated.
We urge the international community to provide protection from the daily perpetrated human rights violations, extrajudicial killings and brutal torture. The junta is committing international crimes, but such cases cannot be handled within the domestic judiciary system – international judiciary mechanisms must hence take action for accountability.
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984)
Article 2
2.2 No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as justification of torture.
2.3.An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture.
For More Information
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners
Email, info@aappb.org
Download link forchrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://aappb.org/…/AAPP-Statement-on-the-Extrajudicial…
Inmate killed, 8 in critical condition following crackdown at Myanmar Prison
/in NewsPolitical prisoners had protested after guards beat an inmate found with a mobile phone.
Prison guards in Myanmar on Friday shot and killed a political prisoner and wounded more than 60 other people – including eight critically – after inmates protested their beating of the victim a day earlier, Radio Free Asia has learned.
The incident at Pathein Prison is the latest in a string of more than 15 violent crackdowns on protests by political prisoners – which authorities termed “riots” – in the nearly two years since Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup.
On Thursday night, guards discovered a mobile phone in the possession of Wai Yan Phyo, a prisoner of conscience serving 28 years on undisclosed charges, according to sources in Pathein Prison and others assisting political prisoners at the facility.
Following the discovery, guards pulled Wai Yan Phyo – also known as Mae Gyi – and two other inmates from their cells and beat them throughout the night before returning them on Friday morning, the sources said.
Tun Kyi, a leading member of a rights group known as the Former Political Prisoners’ Society, said that when the three men explained what had happened to them to their fellow inmates and demanded they be released, authorities refused, sparking a protest by other political prisoners. Guards responded by beating and opening fire on the protesters, he said.
“At around 9:30 a.m., police and prison staff together restrained about 60 prisoners [angering other inmates]. After that the shooting occurred,” Tun Kyi said.
“Wai Yan Phyo was hit in the head by three bullets and died on the spot. The main reason was that he was taken out [of his cell] because a mobile phone was found in his possession and [the guards] tortured him all that night,” he added.
Among the wounded were Pho La Pyae, Win Min Htet, Soe Yu Kyaw, Wai Zaw Lat, Aung Tun Myint, Kyaw Ye Aung, Ye Thway Ni and an eighth man who is yet to be identified, Tun Kyi said. The eight are in critical condition, suffering from gunshot wounds and other injuries.
According to Tun Kyi, the wards housing political prisoners at Pathein Prison are now under heavy security.
Later on Friday, the junta’s information team issued a press release which said that police and prison officials had “undertaken security measures to control a riot” at the complex that was “started by inmates angered over the investigation of an inmate discovered with a mobile phone.”
The statement also blamed the death and injuries on “a clash” between the two sides. Two police officers and nine prison staff were also injured in the incident, it said.
Responding to reports of the incident, Thailand’s Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) referred to authorities’ treatment of Wai Yan Phyo and the two other inmates as “torture,” and called it “a serious and blatant violation of human rights.”
String of prison crackdowns
In August, RFA learned that authorities had violently cracked down on at least 15 peaceful protests by political prisoners since the military coup in Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison, as well as Mandalay’s Ohbo Prison, Tharrawaddy Prison, Kalay Prison, Pathein Prison, Bago Prison and Pyay Prison, based on an analysis of local news reports and interviews with family members of political prisoners.
Authorities killed at least seven prisoners in a single incident at Kalay Prison in March last year, which residents of the area said was the result of a “crackdown on those protesting ill-treatment” at the facility.
A former political prisoner at Insein Prison told RFA that Myanmar has a unique history of prison protests – with prisoners fighting against military rule from inside the walls of detention.
After the junta executed four prominent activists in July – the first judicial executions in more than 30 years – prisoners on death row are experiencing renewed trauma and fear about their own fates, he added.
According to AAPP (Burma), authorities in Myanmar have killed more than 2,700 civilians and arrested nearly 17,000 others since the coup – mostly during peaceful anti-junta protests. While authorities have released some 3,500 people, nearly 13,400 have been sentenced to prison or remain in detention.
Translated by Kyaw Min Htun. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.
RFA News
Myanmar junta sentences teacher to death on murder, terror charges
/in NewsNearly 100 people have been handed the death penalty for opposing the regime that seized power nearly two years ago
A junta-controlled court sentenced a primary school teacher to death last Friday for his alleged role in the killing of a suspected military informant in Ayeyarwady Region’s Myan Aung Township more than a year ago, according to sources.
Kaung Khant Kyaw, 25, was sentenced after being found guilty of murder and terrorism in connection with the shooting death of Win Myint Aung, also known as Gyat Gyi, in the Myan Aung village of Thapyay Kone in October 2021.
A participant in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) against military rule, Kaung Khant Kyaw was arrested weeks after the killing and charged under Section 302(1)b of the Penal Code and Section 50e of the Counter-Terrorism Law.
An elected MP from Ayeyarwady Region condemned the sentence, calling it “absurd.”
“Handing death sentences to CDM teachers and students is just destroying the country’s future. It’s absurd that a group of power-hungry people is punishing innocent, educated youths,” said the lawmaker, who did not want to be named.
According to Kyaw Ye Lwin, a member of the Basic Education General Strike Committee’s secretarial team, Kaung Khant Kyaw was not permitted to meet with his family during his trial.
“Everyone’s extremely worried because they said no one would be allowed to see him again. The family is still trying their best to see him,” he said, adding that only one lawyer was allowed inside the court during sentencing.
He added that Kaung Khant Kyaw would likely be transferred from Hinthada Prison, where he was held during his trial, to Pathein Prison now that a sentence has been handed down.
The family is planning to appeal the sentence, he said.
Kaung Khant Kyaw is the first schoolteacher to be sentenced to death since the February 2021 coup. Nearly 200 others are currently in junta custody, according to Kyaw Ye Lwin, who described the sentence as a “threat” to others taking part in the CDM.
On Sunday, seven educational organisations released a statement condemning the military’s imposition of the death penalty on its opponents.
It also called for an end to the regime’s unlawful arrests and urged the international community to take action against the junta for its brutal suppression of dissent.
At least five other CDM education staff members, including a teacher named Swan Yee Htet who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, were also arrested in Myan Aung.
According to data compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a total of 97 people have been sentenced to death by the military council as of December 30, 2022.