The regime has sentenced 63 political prisoners to an additional three to six years in prison for allegedly rioting in Ayeyarwady Region’s in Pathein Prison in January.
All 63 had been tortured after protesting the beating of political prisoners by guards, according to the Myanmar Political Prisoners’ Network.
The protest started on January 5 when prison authorities took one prisoner, Ko Win Min Htet (also known as Ko Mae Gyi), from a cell.
Inmates he shared the cell with started protesting for him to be returned, fearing he was being tortured.
Prison authorities and police used gunfire to end the protest. Sixty-four inmates were injured, 13 critically. One—Ko Wai Yan Phyo—died after being beaten and tortured by prison guards on January 6.
Prison authorities subsequently prosecuted the 63 political prisoners who had been tortured for protesting. Twenty-six inmates were sentenced to an additional three years in jail by the prison court for damaging public property. The court cited Section-61 of the Penal Code for its decision, according to the Myanmar Political Prisoners’ Network.
The remaining 37 inmates were sentenced to an additional three years in prison for obstructing the prison staff under Section-332 of the Penal Code, according to the network. Sixteen of them were charged with additional charges related to Section-332 and sentenced to a total of six additional years in prison
The sentences were imposed in August and September, said U Thaik Tun Oo, a representative of the Myanmar Political Prisoners’ Network.
“All the inmates were being beaten and tortured by prison authorities. It shouldn’t happen that the victims of injustice are prosecuted and imprisoned,” U Thaik Tun Oo told The Irrawaddy.
The political prisoners had been serving three to 40-year sentences, and some were facing trial on additional charges, he added.
The prisoners who protested beatings were held in solitary confinement for three months and denied visits.
Political prisoners who attempt to assert their rights often receive additional sentences under junta rule, prison-monitoring groups say.
As of Tuesday, 4,120 people had been killed by junta forces while 24,844 people, including elected government leaders, have been arrested or detained since the Myanmar military’s 2021 coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Of them, 19,272 remain behind bars.
