The situation for political prisoners has reached a life-threatening status

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– 23.August 2024

On August 19, 2024, an argument erupted when female political prisoners in Daik-U Prison made a complaint to a Ward Officer regarding the inappropriate nature of male prison staff frequenting the bathing area while female political prisoners were bathing. The argument resulted in female prisoners being shot with slingshots, leaving eight with life-threatening injuries, while also injuring several others. On the night of August 20, prison authorities, including male staff, reportedly entered the female ward of the prison, fully armed with guns, rubber sticks, tasers, and slingshots.

The oppression of female political prisoners by male prison authorities, coupled with armed nighttime incursions into the female ward, to this day, raises significant concerns for the safety and lives of these women.

Moreover, on June 15, 2024, more than 40 female political prisoners from Kyaikmaraw Prison were transferred to Daik-U Prison. Following their transfer, Daik-U Prison authorities allegedly found drugs and illegal items, leading to a violent crackdown where they opened fire with firearms and slingshots, hurled bricks at the female ward and carried out beatings. Female political prisoners were consequently injured yet were locked up for several days without being given medical treatment.

In another case, documentary film maker and political prisoner, Phay Maung Sein, passed away at Sakura Hospital in Yangon City on August 19 at 2 p.m. He had suffered broken ribs during interrogation and was not given adequate medical treatment. Phay Maung Sein had also contracted bone tuberculosis and was transferred to Insein Hospital, only when his condition had severely deteriorated. While receiving medical treatment at Insein Hospital, he was kept in leg shackles. He was released on August 16, just before his death, when it was too late to save him. His untimely death occurred on August 19 due to his untreatable condition.

Much like the experience of Phay Maung Sein, there have been at least (101) cases of political prisoners losing their lives due to a lack of proper medical care.

We remain committed to our efforts of documenting and identifying those responsible for the torture of political prisoners in various forms, in order to ensure they are held accountable for their crimes. We vow to do our best to seek justice for the sacrifices that political prisoners have and continue to make and the suffering they have endured.

Our revolution must prevail.

Our justice must be realized!

Joint Organizations

– Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)

– Former Political Prisoners Society

– Political Prisoners Network (Myanmar)

– Women Organization for Political Prisoners (WOPP)

– ထောင်ဝင်စာပို့ကြမယ်

– နွေဦးတမာန် နိုင်/ကျဉ်းကူညီရေးအဖွဲ့

Down load file;

https://aappb.org/…/Statement_for_prison_torture…

Myanmar rebels capture last junta base in township on China border

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The captured base is a key to the defense of a military headquarters.

One of Myanmar’s most powerful insurgent armies has taken full control of a strategically important township in Kachin state on the border with China, its information officer told Radio Free Asia.

The Kachin Independence Army, or KIA, together with People’s Defense Forces loyal to the shadow National Unity Government, defeated junta forces to capture their last remaining battalion base in Momauk township in northern Myanmar on Monday, Col. Naw Bu said.

“We were able to completely seize Infantry Battalion 437,” he said. “The military council launched airstrikes but now we can say we have taken control of the whole of Momauk township.”

There were casualties on both sides, Naw Bu said, but he declined to give details.

RFA telephoned the junta’s Kachin state spokesman and social affairs minister Moe Min Thei to ask about Momauk but he did not answer.

The KIA, fighting for self-determination against the forces of the junta that toppled a democratically elected government in 2021, launched an initial attack on Momauk on May 7, then began their final push, along with their allies, on July 24.

Momauk is about 130 kilometers (81 miles) south of the Kachin state capital of Myitkyina, and only about 14 kilometers (9 miles) east of the town of Bhamo where the junta’s Operations and Command Headquarters 21 is based,  Naw Bu said.

Junta forces had withdrawn towards Bhamo, which is on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, he said.

The KIA and its allies have captured more than 20 junta camps in the township since late July and about 200 junta camps in the whole of Kachin state since the beginning of the year, he said.

RFA News

Over 1,000 Civilians Flee to Ayeyarwady as Fighting Nears Gwa Town in Southern Rakhine 

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Over 1,300 civilians from southern Rakhine State’s Gwa Township have fled to neighboring Ayeyarwady Region as fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and Myanmar military junta troops nears Gwa town, according to local residents and a lawmaker familiar with the situation on the ground.

In southern Rakhine State, the AA and joint resistance forces gained control of Thandwe in June and seized Kyeintali in Gwa Township on Aug. 14. Since then the fighting has neared Gwa town, which is near the border with Ayeyarwady Region.

“Since the clashes started in Kyeintali, many civilians from Gwa Township have arrived in our town. Now, it is estimated that there are over 100 people in our town and nearby villages,” a resident of Ingabu Township in Ayeyarwady Region told The Irrawaddy.

In Ayeyarwady Region, after the displaced Gwa Township residents passed through the Arakan Mountains they reached the Yaynanthar military checkpoint, a crucial gateway on the Gwa-Ngathaingchaung Road, which connects Rakhine State and Ayeyarwady Region. There, they were required to give their personal information and the addresses of their destination to military officials stationed there.

The regime officials sent the information to the administrators of the towns and villages listed as destinations, and warned the Rakhine residents they would be punished if they did not appear there, said Daw Cho Cho Win, a National League for Democracy lawmaker who is the representative in exile for Ayeyarwady Region’s Lemyethna Township, and who still has access to information on the situation in her constituency.

“According to our data, it is estimated that over 1,300 people have already passed through the Yaynanthar Gate since early this month. It could be much higher than that, in fact. Some people are traveling to Ayeyarwady Region via forest routes. We are still enquiring about them,” she said.

While the AA’s offensive is focused on areas near Gwa town, residents of Ayeyarwady Region’s Hinthada district, especially areas close to the Arakan Mountains including Kwin Kauk, Ingapu, Mazalikone and Tugyi, are also bracing for clashes, with many packing up valuables and other belongings and shipping some of them to safer places.

Meanwhile, in Ngathaingchaung, Yegyi and Kyonpyaw, which are deeper inside Ayeyarwady along the route leading from the Yaynanthar Gate checkpoint, military troops have been deployed in public places including schools, football fields and pagoda compounds to defend against possible attacks by the AA and resistance forces.

“News is spreading that military junta troops will be deployed at the school next week and they will check guestlists looking for people from Rakhine State. In our town and suburban villages, there are almost 200 people from Rakhine State,” said a resident of Kwin Kauk, a town lying next to the Arakan Mountains in Ayeyarwady Region.

If the AA, People’s Defense Force groups (PDFs) and other resistance forces gain control of Gwa town, the clashes will very likely spread across Ayeyarwady Region, as the region is home to resistance groups trained by the AA, a political analyst said.

“As soon as Gwa comes under the control of the AA, the battles will begin in Ayeyarwady. I think it will be in the cool season,” he said. In Myanmar, the cool season starts around November.

Since launching its offensive against regime forces in November last year, the AA has captured almost all of northern Rakhine State, as well as Thandwe and Kyeintali town in the south.

Irrawaddy News

Arakan Army Must Facilitate Access for International Aid, Monitors and Investigators to Northern Rakhine State

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19 August 2024: The Arakan Army (AA) must ensure the protection of civilians in northern Rakhine state and uphold its obligations under international humanitarian law, says the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M).

An attack on Rohingya men, women and children on 5 August 2024 may have resulted in the deaths of up to 200 people, according to credible reports. The victims were attempting to escape violent conflict between the AA and Myanmar military in Maungdaw, northern Rakhine state, and cross the Naf River into Bangladesh.

Survivors and witnesses report bombs being dropped from drones, artillery fire, and soldiers shooting people with small arms. The AA has been accused of being responsible. The recent events follow the reported large-scale, coordinated killing, arson and shelling attacks on Rohingya in Buthidaung on 17 May, which AA troops are also alleged to have committed.

The humanitarian situation in northern Rakhine state, in particular for Rohingya communities, is dire. Rohingya in northern Rakhine are at risk of genocide, according to a 2020 ruling issued by the International Court of Justice, and the region is subject to an internet shutdown and tight movement restrictions imposed by the Myanmar military.

SAC-M has not yet been able to determine who is responsible for the recent atrocities against the Rohingya and other civilians in northern Rakhine state. However, it is satisfied that the AA and its political wing the United League of Arakan (ULA) are now the primary military and governance authorities in the region, having almost entirely defeated and displaced the Myanmar military.

As such, SAC-M calls on the ULA/AA, as the de facto authority in northern Rakhine state and a party to the conflict, to act immediately to protect all civilians at all times as its principal obligation under international law. In particular, the ULA/AA must:

  • Work with the Government of Bangladesh to establish a humanitarian corridor from Bangladesh and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to all communities in Rakhine state.
  • Assure, ensure and facilitate safe passage for Rohingya and other civilians to take shelter in designated areas of protection.
  • Request, enable and cooperate fully with an independent international investigative team to enter Rakhine state to investigate the treatment of Rohingya and other civilians in Rakhine state.
  • Invite independent international monitors to be stationed in Rakhine state to monitor and report on the protection of civilians and the observance of other obligations under international law.

The ULA/AA has said that it is committed to upholding the human rights of all ethnic and religious communities living in Rakhine. Now it must prove it.

SAC-M calls on the United Nations and its agencies and other States to uphold their own obligations and expedite efforts to prevent further grave violations of international law in Myanmar and hold perpetrators of those violations to account.

This Sunday 25 August marks seven years since the start of the massive 2017 atrocities during which thousands of Rohingya men, women, boys and girls were killed in the ensuing mass murder, rape and gang rape, torture, burning and arson carried out by the Myanmar military. Three quarters of a million Rohingya were forced to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh.

Seven years on, victims are still waiting for justice and accountability. And now new atrocities are being added to the old ones. The total impunity for perpetrators of grave violations of international law in Myanmar ensures the conditions for continuing atrocities against civilians, as this most recent massacre attests. The international community must do more to deliver justice and finally bring impunity in Myanmar to end.

Special Advisory Council

Evidence of an escalation in brutal atrocities committed by Myanmar military – Myanmar Mechanism Annual Report

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Geneva, 13 August 2024 – There is substantial evidence that brutal war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Myanmar military have escalated at an alarming rate across the country, according to information collected and analysed by the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (Mechanism) and detailed in its Annual Report released today.

The Report focuses on the period 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024 – a time when armed conflicts increased across Myanmar as the challenges to military rule intensified.

During this time, the Mechanism collected significant evidence of more intensive and violent war crimes, such as aerial attacks on schools, religious buildings and hospitals where there was no apparent military target, and physical mutilations against people detained during the armed conflicts, including beheadings and public displays of disfigured and sexually mutilated bodies.

“We have collected substantial evidence showing horrific levels of brutality and inhumanity across Myanmar. Many crimes have been committed with an intent to punish and induce terror in the civilian population,” said Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the Mechanism.

The Mechanism is also investigating the unlawful imprisonment, including arbitrary detention and manifestly unfair trials, of perceived opponents of the military junta. Thousands of people have been arrested and many tortured or killed in detention. There is abundant evidence of systematic torture, including severe physical and mental abuse such as beatings, electric shocks, strangulations and sleep deprivation. There is also evidence of gang rape, the burning of sexual body parts and other violent sexual and gender-based crimes committed in detention. The victims include people of all genders and ages, including children.

“No one has been held accountable for any crimes, which emboldens perpetrators and deepens the culture of impunity in the country. We are trying to break this cycle. I believe the Mechanism has made considerable progress in building criminal cases against those most responsible for these crimes,” said Koumjian.

The findings in the Report are based on information and evidence collected from more than 900 sources, including more than 400 eyewitness testimonies, and additional evidence such as photographs, videos, audio material, documents, maps, geospatial imagery, social media posts and forensic evidence.

While the vast majority of information collected by the Mechanism concerns crimes committed by the Myanmar security forces, there is also credible evidence of crimes committed by armed groups which are fighting against the military. This includes summary executions of civilians suspected of being military informers or collaborators.

While the Mechanism is working hard to investigate the high volume of crimes committed since the military takeover in February 2021, it also maintains its commitment to the investigation of earlier crimes committed against the Rohingya during the Myanmar military’s 2016 and 2017 clearance operations. In particular, the Mechanism has analysed the movements of military units, the resettlement practices and policies intended to attract the migration of non-Rohingya people to Rakhine State, and the quantities and qualities of weapons possessed by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army at the time of the clearance operations.

The Mechanism has shared these analyses, along with a vast volume of evidence, with authorities working on ongoing cases concerning the Rohingya at the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and in Argentina. The Mechanism is proactively sharing evidence that may be relevant to the proceedings and is also responding to targeted requests from these authorities for specific information and analysis.

The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM or Mechanism) was created by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2018 to collect and analyse evidence of the most serious international crimes and other violations of international law committed in Myanmar since 2011. It aims to facilitate justice and accountability by preserving and organizing this evidence and preparing case files that can be used by authorities to prosecute individuals in national, regional and international courts.

Download Report

For more information visit iimm.un.org or contact iimm@un.org

iimm

Human Rights Situation weekly update (Aug 8 to 14, 2024)

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Human Rights Violations took place in States and Regions from Aug 8 to 14, 2024

Military Junta Troop launched airstrikes and dropped bombs in Sagaing Region, Magway Region, Tanintharyi Region, Mandalay Region, Chin State, Shan State, and Kachin State from August 8th to 14th. The staff from the head of the Prison which work under Military Junta, were beating and torturing the political prisoners from Myaungmya Prison, Ayeyarwady Region, and Thayawaddy Prison, Bago Region. The Military Junta and administrators from wards and villages made lists of the physically and mentally disabled people for the Military Service in Mandalay Region. They threatened that they would arrest the relatives of the people who fled from the Military Service.

About 30 civilians died, and over 50 were injured by the Military’s heavy and light artillery attacks. An underaged child died and 4 were injured when the Military Junta committed abuses.