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Tortured teashop owner loses hearing after more than four months in detention

November 16, 2021/in News

The man and his wife have both been held in Mandalay’s Obo Prison since their arrest in early July The owner of a teashop in Mandalay Region’s Sintgaing Township has lost his hearing and some of his eyesight due to torture at the hands of his interrogators, according to a source close to his family. […]

Weekly update on the situation of Human Rights in Myanmar: Post-Coup (November 8-14) 2021

November 15, 2021/in HR Situation

The Myanmar military is using innocent civilians as political tools in order to make themselves appear more legitimate. Over the last week, a series of high-profile National League for Democracy (NLD) leaders have either been arrested, or sentenced to long sentences in an attempt to weaken party morale. Detained veteran student activist, U Kyaw Min […]

Tortured teashop owner loses hearing after more than four months in detention

November 16, 2021/in News

Weekly update on the situation of Human Rights in Myanmar: Post-Coup (November 8-14) 2021

November 15, 2021/in HR Situation

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Tortured teashop owner loses hearing after more than four months in detention

November 16, 2021/in News

The man and his wife have both been held in Mandalay’s Obo Prison since their arrest in early July

The owner of a teashop in Mandalay Region’s Sintgaing Township has lost his hearing and some of his eyesight due to torture at the hands of his interrogators, according to a source close to his family.

Min Thu Tun, 32, was arrested at his teashop in the village of Ohn Pin Chan on July 6 on suspicion of involvement with anti-regime forces active in the area.

He is currently being held in Mandalay’s Obo Prison, where he faces charges of incitement under Section 505a of the Penal Code and illegal possession of weapons under Sections 5 and 6 of the Weapons Act.

His condition has greatly deteriorated since he was arrested together with his wife and five others, including his 12-year-old son and employees of his teashop, according to the family contact.

“He has gone deaf and his eyes have also been badly injured. They said his eyesight is not very good. He got all those injuries from being tortured,” the source said, citing someone who saw Min Thu Tun at an in-prison court hearing in October.

The family was taken into custody following a clash between junta forces and local resistance fighters near Mandalay International Airport in the nearby town of Tada-U. One soldier was killed in the shootout and one member of the Sintgaing People’s Defence Force (PDF) was arrested.

During a raid carried out after the clash, regime forces reportedly discovered explosives in a hut near Min Thu Tun’s Shwe Kyal Zin teashop.

Min Thu Tun, his wife Tin Nwe Hlaing, and three other suspects are still being held by the junta, but the couple’s son, Aung Swan Pyae, and one other boy have since been released after initially being charged with possessing explosives.

Tin Nwe Hlaing, 32, is also suffering from health problems, according to the family contact.

“She has a stomach disease. The rice they serve in prison is of poor quality, causing her to have frequent stomach pains. It’s really worrying,” he said.

“Their child is being looked after by their relatives. It’s so sad to see a family being torn apart,” he added.

No details were available about the condition of the three other detainees, Sai, Htet Wai Yan, and Min Min Soe.

The next court hearing is expected to be held at a special court inside Obo Prison on November 19.

Myanmar Now attempted to contact the regime’s information officer and Sintgaing’s central police station for information regarding the cases against the detainees and their condition in custody, but did not receive a response.

Neither Min Thu Tun nor Tin Nwe Hlaing have received adequate treatment for their health issues, according to the source close to the family.

“They’re not guilty in the first place. I just want to request the military council to release them as soon as possible,” he said.

Myanmar Now News

Weekly update on the situation of Human Rights in Myanmar: Post-Coup (November 8-14) 2021

November 15, 2021/in HR Situation

Detained veteran student activist, U Kyaw Min Yu (Ko Jimmy), a member of the 88 Generation Students Group was arrested at the end of October where he later suffered a violent interrogation in military custody. He was then charged with high treason and terrorism. The five charges he faces could see him face 30 years in prison if convicted, with the possibility of the death penalty.

Former NLD Chief Minister, Nang Khin Htwe Mying, 67 was found guilty on five separate charges in a military court. She was handed a maximum of 15 years for each case – which brought the total to 77 years in prison.

U Win Htein, who has been sentenced to two decades in prison for sedition by the junta, is an 80 year old patron of the NLD in declining health who was transferred from a Naypyitaw detention centre to Obo Prison in Mandalay.

As more charges are laid, ousted politicians are still being detained and family members taken hostage in their place. Win Myint Hlaing, 51, who represented Taungdwingyi Township in Magway’s regional legislature was taken away with his brother on 8 November and has not been heard from since.

Meanwhile, since the attempted coup, the junta has continued to crackdown on former government officials who have rejected the regime and remained loyal to the NLD. Over the last 90 days, the military has seized approximately 70 properties of NLD lawmakers and other party members who have joined the National Unity Government or People’s Defense Forces.

Despite all the efforts to weaken the resistance movement and Spring Revolution, efforts to dismantle the junta have not wavered. The arrests and targeted assaults on the people’s freedoms are only signifying the fragility of the junta and their desperate attempts to eliminate competition to appear stronger. People continue to overwhelmingly reject everything that the military stands for.

CHIN STATE

Satellite imagery showed the devastation and destruction perpetrated by the military junta in Chin State where homes and churches were burnt to the ground. The regime continues to deny their involvement but photos and testimonies from survivors speak the truth.

As resistance forces continued to fight to defend their territory, the Chinland Defense Force (CDF) in Mindat township stated that over a week and a half, a Myanmar military convoy was repeatedly attacked and nearly 60 soldiers were killed.

The wave of atrocity crimes in Chin State has led to challenges documenting evidence of the war-path left behind by the Myanmar junta. An ongoing internet shutdown has made it even harder. Organizations are taking huge risks to attempt to collect critical documentation.

KACHIN STATE

Communities in Kachin State are reeling from the aftermath of targeted airstrikes by the military junta. Livelihoods have been forcibly put on hold as the regime’s presence evokes fear and uncertainty. Since March, multiple airstrikes have displaced thousands. Many displaced villagers have left the IDP camps and returned home, fearing that they would contract the COVID-19 virus in close quarters. Yet many of their needs remain unmet as conflict and the pandemic, as well as inflation, has put basic items out of financial reach for local people.

SHAN STATE

Shan State is among the many areas which continues to be faced with the brutality of the junta as ongoing offensives threaten their survival. In the last two days, scorched earth tactics forced nearly 40 000 residents in Shan State and Sagaing region. In Pekon township, southern Shan State there were 10 000 people from 20 villages seeking refuge.

Villagers also reported the rape of a local elderly woman in northern Shan State after soldiers stole food from her home. The 62-year old was in her home with another woman when three soldiers approached her home. After one left to feed the livestock, the soldiers returned and raped the woman.

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Spring Revolution

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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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