Ko Ye Yint (not his real name), a political prisoner in his 20s, recounted the harrowing experiences of sexual abuse and exploitation he endured while imprisoned in Insein Prison.
He was arrested in Yangon Region after two unidentified men in plain clothes searched his phone and bag in 2023. Though nothing was found on his phone, the contents of his notebook led to a charge under Section 505-(a) of the penal code, resulting in a three-year prison sentence. After 15 days in detention, he was transferred to Insein Prison, where he remained for five months before being unlawfully sentenced. He was released in 2025.
In May 2024, prison authorities relocated 120 political prisoners within Insein Prison, and Ko Ye Yint was among them. Exhausted from the move, he fell asleep, only to be approached by a cell supervisor serving an 11-year sentence for drug-related offenses. Cell supervisors are prisoners who manage a cell in the ward. The cell supervisor, Zayar Aung, began engaging him in conversation before progressing to inappropriate physical contact.
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