Daik-U, July (11)
The military council has frequently committed extrajudicial killings of political prisoners across the country, sources who assist political prisoners told Than Lwin Times.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) announced on July 10 that 37 political prisoners who were taken out by the authorities from Kyaiksakaw prison in Daik-U Township of Bago Region on June 27 under the pretense of being transferred to another prison have gone missing.
The AAPP reported that when family members went to inquire about the missing political prisoners at Kyaiksakaw Prison in Daik-U, they were repeatedly denied by prison officials.
Also, on July 7 and 8, according to the notice sent by the head officer of Kyaiksakaw Prison to the families of the prisoners Ko Khant Lin Naing and Ko Pyae Phyo Hein, the prisoner transport vehicle overturned while the prisoners were being transferred from Kyaikakaw Prison to Insein Prison, and the inmates took advantage of this and ran away, so security personnel shot and arrested them, killing the two.
Ko Thaik Tun Oo, a member of the Myanmar Political Prisoners’ Network Steering Committee, confirmed to the Than Lwin Times that seven political prisoners who were arrested between late 2021 and 2022 died in Kyyaksakaw prison.
Among the dead were Ko Aung Thura Hlaing, Ko Jargyi, Mo Min Phone Mahar, Ko Khan Lin Naing, Ko Zin Wie Tun, Ko Aung Myo Thu, and Ko Pyae Phyo Aung. They were sentenced by the military council under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code, Sections 50, 51, 52, and 53 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Ko Thaik Tun Oo called for the international community, NUG’s Ministry of Human Rights, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to put effective pressure on the junta’s prison department as soon as possible regarding the killing of political prisoners.
The prison authorities informed the family members of the deaths of the two inmates on July 7, and the bodies have not been returned.
According to AAPP, these actions go beyond prison procedures, and the military council commits arbitrary torture, extrajudicial killings, and serious crimes, as well as flagrant violations of the ASEAN Human Rights Convention.
On July 2nd, the prison officials informed the family that U Sein Win, a political prisoner, had died of a ruptured gastric artery aneurysm in Myingyan prison.
However, the prisoners said that U Sein Win was taken out of the prison and under interrogation, and the family members said that bruises were found on his body, AAPP said in a statement.
The regime troops shot and killed Ko Kung Zarni Hein and Ko Kyaw Thura, who were accused of killing singer Lily Naing Kyaw on June 6, for trying to run away when they were asked to show evidence.
U Tun Kyi, a member of the steering committee of the AAPP, told Than Lwin Times that the extrajudicial killing of political prisoners is unacceptable and that the military council must take full responsibility for this.
The AAPP calls on the international community to take decisive action against the crimes committed by the military council that cannot be prosecuted domestically and bring them before an international court.
During the military coup, more than 3,750 people were unlawfully killed, and 150 people have lost their lives due to poor health care and torture in interrogation centers, according to the AAPP.
News-Than Lwin Times
Photo- Network For Human Rights Documentation Burma