20 Released Political Prisoners Rearrested and Imprisoned in Arakan State, PPNM Announces

Maung Sar Ga

Narinjara | October 12, 2026

Twenty political prisoners in Arakan State have been rearrested and re-imprisoned by the Myanmar military junta immediately upon completing their prison sentences, according to an October 10 announcement by the Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM).

The detainees had recently completed their sentences under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act, charges often levied for alleged contact with the Arakan Army (AA).

Witnesses and human rights networks report that instead of being allowed to return home, the individuals were taken back into custody right at the prison gates.

The group includes 13 individuals from Sittwe Prison and seven from Kyaukphyu Prison, both controlled by the coup regime.

According to the PPNM statement, a total of 35 political prisoners, including four women, have been re-arrested across various prisons in Myanmar between January 2025 and October 2026. Upon completing their original, unjust sentences, these individuals were immediately hit with new charges by the military junta.

Sittwe Prison recorded the highest number of re-arrests with 13 cases, followed by seven from Kyaukphyu Prison.

"The remaining cases occurred across several other facilities: four individuals at Loikaw Prison, three each at Magway and Obo Prisons, two each at Insein and Daik-U Prisons, and one at Tharrawaddy Prison."

The junta has reportedly used Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act, alongside Sections 50(j) and 52(a) of the Anti-Terrorism Law, to prosecute these individuals a second time and unjustly extend their confinement. PPNM noted that some victims were taken directly from the prison gates upon release, while others were arrested shortly after arriving back at their homes.

The 13 individuals from Sittwe Prison were technically released on October 1. However, a source close to the prisoners revealed that they were immediately re-arrested at the gates and sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison under Section 50(j) of the Anti-Terrorism Law during the first week of October. The affected individuals hail from various localities, including Sittwe's Tharyar Kone (Baiyu) Village, Nazi Village shore, Mingan, Kyauktan Village, and several wards within Rathedaung Township.

Similarly, seven men from Kyaukphyu Prison were re-arrested following their scheduled release last April. On June 8, the Kyaukphyu District Court sentenced each of them to 10 years in prison under Sections 50(j) and 52(a) of the Anti-Terrorism Law.

A local resident identified the seven Kyaukphyu citizens asU Kyaw Hla Aung (Paung Daw Kwin Ward), U Mya Win, 46 (Taung Yin Ward), U Maung Mae, 68 (Central Ward), U Saw Ran Naing, 39 (Central Ward), U Thant Zaw Lin, also known as Aya Son, 45 (Kalar Bar Taung Ward), U La Min Phyo, 38 and U Tun Min Phyo, 34.

U Myat Tun, a former Rakhine political prisoner, told Narinjara that the junta's practice of re-arresting individuals at the end of their jail terms is a blatant breach of international law.

"Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights explicitly states that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention," U Myat Tun said. "Subjecting political prisoners to violent, consecutive arrests the moment they finish their sentences is the definition of arbitrary detention. Even the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission has published these principles, yet Min Aung Hlaing’s military council continues to openly violate human rights."

PPNM strongly condemned the actions as a flagrant abuse of basic human rights. The network urged the public to closely monitor the ongoing oppression inside Myanmar's prisons and called for collective action to demand the immediate release of all unjustly detained political prisoners.