A protest broke out in Pathein prison after four political prisoners sentenced to long prison terms were tortured by the prison warden and staff. Police and prison administrators dispersed the crowd with guns and slingshots, people close to the prison administration said.
The unrest in the prison began around 9 am on Jan. 6 and ended around 10 am, said a source close to the prison.
“I heard screams from inside the prison. They fired guns four times in the air inside the main prison. Some of the bullets fell outside the prison. I heard that they shot at the prisoners with slingshots. Now we can no longer visit the prison,” said a woman who visited the prison.
On the night of January 5, political prisoners from Pathein who had been sentenced to prison terms ranging from 10 to 20 years – Ko Win Naing Tun, also known as Ayeyarwady Khaaw Lay, Ko Phoe La Pyae, Ko Me Gyi, and another prisoner-were beaten and tortured by the prison’s director and staff because they were accused of bringing cell phones into the prison, sources close to the prison said.
Those beaten were not returned to their original dormitory, but were housed separately in dormitory 6.
After other political prisoners were denied access to them, riots broke out in the prison.
The prisoners wanted to find out the truth about the incident, the sources said.
The political prisoners from dormitories 1 and 2 were reportedly beaten by a prison order maintenance group composed of 25 criminal prisoners, and they are being investigated by prison authorities.
“The prison warden tends to pick a fight when he is drunk. In fact, he exploits his position for personal gain by allowing his subordinates to bring prohibited items, including phones, into the prison. They confiscated the phones and extorted money from the owners to avoid additional charges,” said a former inmate who was released from Pathein prison in an amnesty.
Currently, the Pathein police chief and other police officers have taken over security at the prison, while 20 members of the prison’s order maintenance team are equipped with hard bamboo staffs, sources close to the prison staff said.
According to sources close to the prison administration, there are about 600 male and female political prisoners, including long-sentenced political prisoners, in Pathein prison. Together with other criminal prisoners, there are about 1,500 prisoners in total.
Sent by NMG.