Political prisoners in Magway Prison brutalized and isolated for resisting forced labour and corruption

Mizzima

The Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM) reported on 5 January 2026, that 35 political prisoners at Magway Prison were severely beaten by prison authorities and placed in solitary confinement after refusing to perform dishwashing duties.

The incident began on 8 December 2025, when prison officials ordered inmates at Male Dormitory 4 to wash dishes in groups of ten. The political prisoners argued they should not be forced to perform such tasks because they are held on political charges rather than criminal ones.

In response to their refusal, prison officials and “senior prisoners” (known as Tan See) including Tin Aung Tun, Sit Thar Gyi, Nga Pway, and Myat Ko, along with staff member Ko Thet Paing Soe carried out a coordinated assault.

The PPNM detailed torture methods that included forcing prisoners to sit with heads bowed, beating those who looked up, making them lie on the ground, and striking them with batons, wires, and cables.

“In response to their appeal, prison officials denied them the right to talk like normal citizens by making them sit with their heads down and hold their hands together while speaking. They had to keep their heads lowered and clasp their hands in front of them even when they were standing,” said Ko Thaik Tun Oo, a member of the PPNM leading committee.

In a separate but related incident of resistance, 11 other political prisoners were beaten and placed in solitary confinement for refusing to buy betel nuts sold by prison staff. This boycott was intended to cut into the corrupt earnings of officials who sell items at exorbitant prices at the prison’s internal market bars.