Mizzima
An LGBTQ political prisoner at Tharyarwaddy Prison in Bago Region was seriously injured when a convicted murderer tried to rape and assault them, according to a recent Political Prisoners Network (PPNM) – Myanmar report.
In the first week of February 2024, Ye Yint Ko, a 24-year-old political prisoner known as Ye Ye within the LGBTQ community, was attacked by Pyuu Gyi, who is serving a life sentence for robbery and murder, according to the PPNM report that came out on 4 May. Ye Ye managed to fight off the attack but sustained serious head injuries from a kosh made with pebbles that Pyuu Gyi was carrying.
Ye Ye had to receive nine stitches in the head at the prison hospital following the attack.
Despite the seriousness of the assault the prison authorities took no action against Pyuu Gyi, he was just reassigned to disciplinary duties by the prison ward administrator.
This lack of accountability suggests that the prison authorities are condoning criminal behavior, including sexual exploitation and assault, according to Thaik Tun Oo, a PPNM Committee member.
He said: “Pyuu Gyi, who holds the position of supervisor within the ward and possesses the keys to the prison cells, abused his authority to carry out the assault.”
Ye Ye was arrested by the junta in September 2021 and subsequently sentenced to 96 years in prison under various legal provisions, including Section 50 (i), Section 51 (c), Section 54, Section 17 (a), and other firearm-related sections. He was moved from Insein Prison to Tharyarwaddy Prison, where he is being held in Section A.
According to members of the PPNM Steering Committee, LGBTQ prisoners, including younger LGBTQ political prisoners are targeted and frequently forced to commit sexual acts to gratify other prisoners.
This happens despite the prison manual stipulating that LGBTQ youths under the age of 21 have to be segregated from older inmates.
There are more than 3,000 inmates in Tharyarwaddy Prison, of those 1,800 are political prisoners.
Following the military coup, political prisoners have faced oppression, torture, and even instances of murder at the hands of prison authorities.
The Political Prisoners Network – Myanmar was established by political prisoners and members of the LGBTQ community to systematically investigate, monitor, and expose instances of murder, sexual abuse and corruption by prison authorities, and judicial biases that often go unnoticed by the public.
