Myanmar: Political prisoners at Insein prison list torture, abuses inflicted against them by Junta

Political inmates at the Insein Prison in Yangon have disclosed the names of guards and employees who have tortured and violated the rights of political detainees there.

Director of the Department of Corrections Myo Oo, prison warden Zaw Lwin Aung, staff officers Tun Win Htike and Ye Kyaw Thu, as well as six other supervisors, are all on the list of ten names.

About 5% of political prisoners detained since the coup, according to the men's section of the political prisoners' statement, "have been permanently crippled by the junta's savage torture."

After the junta murdered four pro-democracy activists in December 2021, in June, July, and August of this year, those who participated in silent protests and hunger strikes were subjected to severe beatings and solitary incarceration.

Additionally, it stated that rights violations and beatings of female political detainees had occurred. Following the denial of appropriate medical care throughout labour, one woman gave birth to a stillborn child.

Any beating of a prisoner is prohibited by prison rules, according to one attorney. The lawyer, who requested anonymity out of concern for retaliation, declared that such beatings were not only illegal but also plainly criminal.

According to the statement, more than 200 political prisoners under the age of 20 as well as more than 1,000 people between the ages of 21 and 35 are currently housed at the Insein Prison.

The lawyer also called upon the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) and international agencies to look into the matter and investigate the junta’s inhuman abuses and torture inflicted on the political prisoners. The statement further added that the political prisoners would continue to fight for their rights at the risk of their lives.