Pro-democracy student activist dies at Insein Prison after being denied medical treatment
A human rights group called the Women’s Organization of Political Prisoners stated on Sunday that student activist Wutyi Aung, 25, died inside of Insein Prison in Yangon due to a lack of medical treatment for her condition on Sunday.
A source close to the family told DVB on the condition of anonymity that Wutyi Aung died during an epileptic seizure and that she had developed a brain tumour due to injuries sustained during interrogations.
Before her arrest in 2021, Wutyi Aung worked as a central executive committee member of the Dagon University Students’ Union. She was arrested with five other student pro-democracy activists in Yangon’s Kyauktada Township on Sept. 14, 2021.
A regime-controlled court sentenced her to three years in Insein Prison on a charge of sedition, or Section 505(a) of the Penal Code. The WOPP claimed that Wutyi Aung sustained an injury to her brain during “torture” from prison officials during an interrogation after her arrest.
Media reported that she was transferred to Daik-U Prison in Bago Region, which is located 88 miles (141 km) north of Yangon, on April 24, 2022. She was transferred back to Insein Prison on Oct. 24, 2022, and received an additional four-year sentence under Section 52(a) of Counter-Terrorism Law on June 27, 2023.
A family friend told DVB on the condition of anonymity that Wutyi Aung had been in poor health since her arrest and fell unconscious for 22 hours in 2022. Wutyi Aung required surgery four days before her death, but prison officials denied her access to a hospital outside of the prison.
The Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM) reported on Sunday that a political prisoner named Pyae Sone Aung, 44, died during a Martyrs’ Day event at Thaton Prison in Mon State on July 19. He had reportedly suffered from hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Pyae Sone Aung was convicted of sedition and terrorism and sentenced to six years in prison on April 5, 2022. The deaths of Wutyi Aung and Pyae Sone Aung brings the number of political prisoners who have died due to a lack of adequate medical treatment in prison this year to 17, according to the PPNM.
It has documented that at least 130 political prisoners have died in custody since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. The Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (AAPP) has documented that 22,184 people are still in detention for political activities, including opposing the 2021 coup.
