At least two senior members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) have died in junta custody since Myanmar’s military ousted the elected NLD government in 2021 and threw its ageing leaders in jail. Observers say the long jail sentences and denial of proper medical treatment are part of a systematic effort by the regime to ensure that democracy leaders do not leave their prison cells alive.
Over the past year, there have been frequent reports of NLD leaders, most in their 70s or 80s, developing health problems or requiring hospital treatment.
On Monday, Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, an NLD vice-chairman and former chief minister of Mandalay Region, died at age 73 after being denied adequate medical treatment for leukemia.
He had been suffering from the disease since 2019. Despite this, the regime arrested him on the first day of the coup on Feb. 1, 2021, sentencing him to 29 years in jail and confining him to a cell at Obo Prison in Mandalay. The politician was reportedly sent to Mandalay General Hospital only two weeks ago, when his condition deteriorated.
Junta officials rushed to the hospital just hours before his death to hand the unconscious politician a pardon, in a seemingly desperate attempt to cover their failure to provide medical care that could have saved the revered elder statesman’s life.
The European Union was among those who condemned the pardon, stating it “was not a gesture of genuine clemency.”
Following the coup, the regime handed long sentences to NLD leaders and government politicians on trumped-up charges including corruption and electoral fraud.
Those imprisoned include 79-year-old State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Naypyitaw, 71-year-old President U Win Myint in Taungoo Prison, and 83-year-old NLD patron U Win Htein in Obo Prison.
Alarm bells are now sounding over the health of all three politicians.
“The President, State Counselor and regional chief ministers are not people who should be behind bars. They are statesmen. They were unfairly detained and are being denied proper and timely medical treatment,” said Ko Bo Kyi, a member of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
“This is akin to slowly torturing them to death over a grudge.”
U Win Htein, the oldest NLD member behind bars, was suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, hypothyroidism, and prostatitis before he was jailed by the regime. Despite being confined to a wheelchair, he was handed 20 years in prison.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has suffered oral and gum problems, low blood pressure and vomiting in Naypyitaw Prison, where she is serving a 27-year term.
U Win Myint, imprisoned for 10 years, developed bladder problems that required a urinary catheter in June last year.
Detained 70-year-old Karen State chief minister Nan Khin Htwe Myint was initially handed 80 years in jail, before the junta cut her sentence in half in 2022.
Imprisoned electricity minister U Win Khaing was rushed to Mandalay General Hospital in June last year with heart problems after being sentenced to 28 years.
When Myanmar was hit by a heat wave in April, junta spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun claimed the regime was taking necessary measures to protect elderly and infirm prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U Win Myint, from severe heat. Observers dismissed the claim as worthless, pointing to the military’s enmity toward the NLD.
Dr Zaw Myint Maung’s health condition was reportedly worsened by hot conditions in Obo Prison, suggesting he would have lived longer if allowed treatment at a hospital.
In a statement, the NLD said inadequate leukemia treatment and accommodation had resulted in Dr Zaw Myint Maung contracting COVID-19 in the prison, which hastened his demise.
A COVID infection contracted while in military custody killed U Nyan Win, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyer and NLD central executive committee member, in 2021. The 79-year-old was arrested on the morning of the junta’s Feb. 1 coup and caught the virus in Insein Prison. He died in intensive care at Yangon General Hospital.
NLD spokesman Monywa Aung Shin died of heart problems one month after being released from eight months detention after the coup.
The death of Dr. Zaw Myint Maung has heightened fears that junta generals are deliberately eradicating key members of the NLD. Myanmar citizens are now expressing concern over the safety of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
“Everyone needs to see clearly that the junta is systematically eliminating the NLD’s top leaders one by one,” said Mai Amm La Ngean, a political ally of the powerful Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), which is fighting the regime in northern Shan State.
“According to our military sources, the regime views the NLD as a poison that could ultimately destroy its military dictatorship,” he stated in a Facebook response to Dr. Zaw Myint Maung’s death.
The AAPP reports that 63 junta opponents have died in jail due to inadequate medical treatment since the coup.
Following Dr. Zaw Myint Maung’s death on Monday, the United States called for the immediate release of all those arbitrarily detained by Myanmar’s military regime.
