Mizzima
The Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) condemned the ongoing ill-treatment of political prisoners as it reported on the deaths of two political prisoners who were denied medical treatment.
The two prisoners were being held at Kyaikmayaw Township Central Prison when they were denied medical treatment which led to their deaths.
Ko Yar Shin, a 43-year-old political prisoner who was serving a life sentence, had been in poor health since November 2023, due to internal injuries from being beaten and tortured during interrogation. Since then, he had not received adequate medical treatment and his internal injuries did not heal. He was taken to a hospital outside the prison for emergency treatment on 11 January but, by then, it was too late, and he died on 12 January.
Ko Yar Shin had been sentenced to life imprisonment under Sections 54 and 52(a) of the Anti-Terrorism Act in 2023.
Ko Pyae Phyo Aung, aged 31, another prisoner at Kyaikmayaw Township Central Prison, was transferred from the prison dormitory to the prison hospital for treatment for a stomach problem at 10:00 p.m. on 15 January. As the prison hospital doctor was resting the prison dentist gave Ko Pyae Phyo Aung an injection. One hour later he passed out and pus came out of his mouth.
Then the prison hospital director arrived and Ko Pyae Phyo Aung was given two more injections before he was put onto oxygen and taken to Mawlamyine Hospital, where he died at 1:00 a.m. on 16 January.
Ko Pyae Phyo Aung, from Insein in Yangon Region, was arrested on 3 January 2022 at the Thanlwin Bridge checkpoint in Hpa-An Township, Karen State. He had been sentenced to 7 years in prison under Section 52(a) of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
HURFOM says the deaths of these two political prisoners were preventable, especially as they should never have been arrested and detained for exercising their fundamental rights and freedoms.
HURFOM is calling for an immediate investigation into the deaths of both the men and the many others who have been killed in military-run detention centers and prisons.
Sick prisoners are dying because the junta has restricted foreign medicines in prisons and does not provide sufficient access to medical treatment. In addition, prisoners are not allowed to be transported outside hospitals in emergencies, according to HURFOM.
According to the rights monitoring group, Political Prisoners Network – Myanmar (PPNM), seventeen political prisoners died in 2023 because their medical symptoms were ignored and treated too late by junta-staffed personnel.
HURFOM says that Ko Yar Shin and Ko Pyae Phyo Aung died because the junta failed to prioritise their health and wellbeing and that the junta should be held accountable for all the deaths of prisoners who died because they were denied proper medical care.
HURFOM, along with many other civil society organisations, such as the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) has stated that the Myanmar junta’s unlawful detention of innocent civilians violates international norms and principles.
The security and protection of detainees remains an ongoing concern as HURFOM calls upon the international community to investigate conditions in prisons in Myanmar and to hold perpetrators responsible for the demise of the health and ultimate deaths of political prisoners.
