At least 13 political prisoners died in junta detainment in the first quarter of 2024, compared with two in the same period last year, according to the Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPN).
The group said six inmates were killed by junta forces and seven died after being denied medical care in Kyaikmaraw, Daik-U, Obo, Dawei, Myingyan, Kale and Magwe prisons and Monywa police station.
Ko Thaik Tun Oo of PPN said the junta has stepped up killings, torture and denial of health care and is handing down longer sentences.
“Increasingly the junta no longer informs families about deaths and carries out most crimes, including beatings, out of sight to cover its wrongdoing,” he added.
In February, prominent activists Ma Noble Aye and Ko Lay Khwin from Yangon were reportedly shot dead by junta troops on the way back from a court appearance in Waw Township, Bago Region. They were detained for allegedly carrying weapons for resistance forces.
The junta claimed they attempted to escape. Their bodies were taken to Waw Hospital and disposed of without informing their families.
On March 29, urban guerrilla fighter Aung Kyaw Zaw, 27, was tortured to death.
He was arrested in November 2021 after an alleged mission in Monywa and sentenced to 30 years in jail under the Counterterrorism Law.
Along with another political detainee, he intervened while police officers were beating a political prisoner and the pair were sent to a military interrogation center where Aung Kyaw Zaw was tortured to death.
On January 22 in Magwe Prison, 22-year-old student Ma Su May Aung, who was jailed for nearly two years, died after being denied medication for a chronic illness. She studied chemistry at Magway University until leaving after February 2021 in protest at the coup. She was arrested in 2022 for alleged pro-resistance posts and jailed for 15 years.
Pyae Phyo Aung, 31, a firefighter who joined the civil disobedience movement, was jailed at Mon State’s Kyaikmaraw Prison. He died on January 15 with alleged abdominal pain.
The PPN said he was being transferred to a civilian hospital when he died.
Ko Har Shin, 43, of Kyaikmaraw Prison died on January 12 after being denied treatment for injuries suffered during military interrogation, according to the PPN.
Ko Thaik Tun Oo said the denial of health care was used to kill indirectly with the number of deaths expected to increase this year.
Last year, the PPN said at least 35 political prisoners died, including 18 because of torture and extrajudicial killings.
He called for increased international scrutiny of Myanmar’s treatment of political prisoners.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners reported on Monday that more than 26,000 people have been arrested since the 2021 coup, of whom at least 20,323 remain behind bars.
