{"id":6970,"date":"2025-07-22T08:46:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T02:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/?p=6970"},"modified":"2025-07-23T04:43:34","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T22:13:34","slug":"political-prisoners-dying-in-custody","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/2025\/07\/political-prisoners-dying-in-custody\/","title":{"rendered":"Political Prisoners Dying in Custody"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-14-2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6971\" src=\"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-14-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-14-2.png 900w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-14-2-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-14-2-768x427.png 768w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-14-2-560x311.png 560w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-14-2-260x144.png 260w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-14-2-160x89.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Myanmar Spring Chronicle \u2013 July 20 Viewpoint<\/strong><br \/><strong>(MoeMaKa, July 21, 2025)<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>Political Prisoners Dying in Custody<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Wut Yay Aung<\/strong>, a 25-year-old executive member of the Dagon University Students&#8217; Union, passed away on <strong>July 20<\/strong> while serving time in <strong>Insein Prison<\/strong> after suffering from a serious illness. According to her colleagues, she was arrested in <strong>September 2021<\/strong> and sentenced to <strong>three years<\/strong> under <strong>Penal Code Section 505(a)<\/strong>. Additional charges were later filed under the <strong>Counter-Terrorism Law<\/strong>, extending her total sentence to <strong>seven years<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Reports from fellow activists and prison sources suggest that she sustained <strong>brain trauma<\/strong> due to <strong>beatings and torture<\/strong> during initial military interrogation. Although the public lacks complete information about the extent of torture and abuse against political prisoners, available evidence indicates that conditions in prisons and interrogation centers under the current military junta are <strong>harsher and more brutal than any previous regimes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>From the early days following the <strong>2021 coup<\/strong>, countless cases emerged of <strong>peaceful protesters being shot, beaten, and detained<\/strong> \u2014 with some dying soon after arrest. Well-known examples include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><strong>U Khin Maung Latt<\/strong>, an NLD party organizer from Kyaukta Township, who died overnight in custody.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>U Zaw Myat Lin<\/strong>, the head of the Su Vocational School and NLD member from Shwepyithar, whose body was found a day after arrest.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In the <strong>over four years<\/strong> since the coup, dozens of political prisoners have reportedly died in <strong>military custody, police stations, and prisons<\/strong>. According to the <strong>Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)<\/strong>, by <strong>October 2023<\/strong>, over <strong>100 political prisoners<\/strong> had died in detention \u2014 many due to <strong>lack of medical care<\/strong>, while others succumbed to <strong>illnesses contracted in prison<\/strong> even after their release.<\/p>\n<p>Conditions in today&#8217;s military-run prisons and interrogation centers are arguably <strong>more severe than under previous military governments<\/strong>, such as the Burma Socialist Programme Party era or post-1988 regimes.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the numerous deaths in custody \u2014 many caused by beatings, torture, and neglect \u2014 <strong>no one has been held accountable<\/strong>. The absence of investigations or prosecutions reveals that the junta not only targets <strong>armed resistance groups<\/strong> and <strong>urban guerrillas<\/strong>, but also permits \u2014 and in effect condones \u2014 <strong>extreme abuses against peaceful political dissenters<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>International organizations such as the <strong>International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)<\/strong> have <strong>not been allowed access<\/strong> to monitor or assist detainees in prisons \u2014 reflecting the regime\u2019s <strong>blatant disregard for international norms and humanitarian law<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>In previous years, reports emerged of <strong>political prisoners being taken out of prison under false pretenses and executed<\/strong>. Following attempted <strong>escapes<\/strong> by detainees during court appearances \u2014 sometimes involving attacks on guards and weapon seizures \u2014 some were <strong>extrajudicially executed<\/strong>, as seen in prisons such as <strong>Daik-U<\/strong> and <strong>Taungoo<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Other documented abuses over the last four years include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Prison riots being <strong>violently suppressed<\/strong>, with inmates beaten or shot.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Political prisoners denied <strong>adequate medical treatment<\/strong>, leading to preventable deaths.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Conditions in prisons have <strong>worsened dramatically<\/strong> \u2014 unlike any previous period in Myanmar\u2019s modern history. This deterioration has <strong>discouraged political organizing<\/strong> in urban areas and pushed more young people to <strong>flee to resistance-held territories<\/strong> or to <strong>join armed struggle<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, in junta-controlled urban centers, <strong>activists\u2019 families<\/strong> remain \u2014 while their comrades, fearing repression, are becoming <strong>less visible<\/strong>, and support networks are weakening.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, the <strong>inhumanity of Myanmar&#8217;s prison system<\/strong> \u2014 rife with torture, denial of treatment, and unchecked brutality \u2014 is pushing many toward <strong>armed resistance<\/strong>, reinforcing the notion that only force can bring down the military dictatorship. This, sadly, may further entrench the cycle of violence and diminish space for peaceful political action.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Myanmar Spring Chronicle \u2013 July 20 Viewpoint(MoeMaKa, July 21, 2025) Political Prisoners Dying in Custody Wut Yay Aung, a 25-year-old executive member of the Dagon University Students&#8217; Union, passed away on July 20 while serving time in Insein Prison after&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/2025\/07\/political-prisoners-dying-in-custody\/\">Read more &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9,58],"tags":[100],"class_list":["post-6970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current","category-features","tag-myanmar-spring-revolution"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-14-2.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3RDLm-1Oq","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6970"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6972,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6970\/revisions\/6972"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}