About 30 political prisoners beaten in Myanmar’s Insein prison ‘without reason’

Mizzima

Approximately 30 political prisoners returning from an officially sanctioned football match at Insein Prison were arbitrarily beaten by a prison staff member in the evening of 5 July, Mizzima sources reported on 7 July. The incident involved Ward 1 prisoners who had attended the match.

The assailant, identified as Prison Officer Aung Kyaw Sint, a one-star insignia officer, allegedly used a rubber baton to deliberately strike the prisoners in vital areas including their faces, heads, and necks.

“They were asked by the one-star officer when they returned to the ward after watching the football match held inside the prison in the evening of the 5th. They explained that they had attended an officially sanctioned match, but he did not accept their explanation and started hitting them,” an anonymous Mizzima source stated.

The source added that both those who played in the match and those who watched it were beaten.

“Approximately 30 people were reportedly beaten. Only one person, the one-star officer Aung Kyaw Sint, was beating them,” the source said. The officer reportedly continued the assault, hitting a second political prisoner for looking back at him, and forced others accompanying them to lie on the ground, stepping on their backs with his shoes.

Another Mizzima source, who also requested anonymity, indicated that the political prisoners who were beaten had committed no offenses within the ward.

“They were beaten solely due to Aung Kyaw Sint’s resentment towards political prisoners. Some are reportedly unable to get out of bed,” the source said.

The Progressive Political Prisoners Network of Myanmar (PPNM) confirmed that the inhumane beatings resulted in severe injuries to the prisoners’ faces and heads, with some in critical condition and unable to move from their beds.

PPNM strongly condemned the acts of torture and violence, issuing a statement on 7 July affirming its commitment to consistently uphold the rights of political prisoners.

As of 7 July, a total of 31,339 people have been arrested since the military coup in February 2021, with 14,401 remaining in detention, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).