According to a statement from the Sagaing Region People’s Strike Force, political prisoners including Ko Wai Moe Naing, leader of the Monywa public protest, and Ko Man Za Myae Mon, leader of the Chaung-U public protest, are being beaten and tortured while being denied medical treatment at Obo Prison in Mandalay. On June 11, political prisoners were transferred from Monywa Prison to Obo Prison in shackles. Upon arrival at the prison, prison staff beat and tortured them with sticks and iron chains, and those who sustained injuries were completely denied medical treatment.
Among those who were beaten and tortured were Ko Wai Moe Naing and Ko Man Za Myae Mon, who were not only denied medical treatment but also kept in shackles and solitary confinement. The Sagaing Region Strike Force warned that the prison authorities, who serve the military dictatorship, will be held responsible for the survival and health conditions of all political prisoners, including public protest leaders.
A family member of a political prisoner detained in Mandalay’s Obo Prison explained that the military council has been implementing continuous restrictions on political prisoners, limiting the quantity of supplies and medicines that can be sent through prison visits, and that prison staff are oppressing political prisoners in various ways inside the prison. Additionally, the prison population exceeds appropriate capacity, and there are deliberate oppressive measures targeting political prisoners. The source also revealed that prison staff are instigating criminal inmates to provoke conflicts with political prisoners, creating an increasingly deteriorating situation within the prison.
