Battle outside Magway prison leads to shooting death of two political prisoners

Two political prisoners were killed in Magway Prison last week after a firefight between resistance fighters and police opposite the prison provoked unrest inside, according to a prisoners’ rights advocacy group. The clash outside the prison erupted on Sunday, April 13-–the first day of the Thingyan New Year festival—when the Daung Sit Aung resistance group attacked the junta’s Police Battalion 25 station on the Magway-Yenangyaung road about 12 miles north of the city of Magway in the region of the same name. During the fight, shooting inside the prison resulted in the deaths of the two political prisoners as well as injuries to five other inmates, according to a statement issued by the Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM) on Friday. Tensions reportedly arose between prison staff and inmates as the exchange of fire went on, culminating when guards fired from the prison entrance and at least one watchtower. Saw Shwe Aung and the other slain prisoner were in the prison’s religious hall when they were killed, according to the PPNM statement. “They died from bullets fired by Prison Department staff during a confrontation between authorities and political prisoners as well as other inmates serving time for criminal charges,” said Thike Tun Oo, a representative of the PPNM. Magway Prison houses political prisoners transferred from Myingyan and Pakokku. Some are being held in the prison’s religious hall due to overcrowding, according to a source connected to the prison. Saw Shwe Aung was a political activist who had been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison on political charges. At least five inmates are undergoing medical treatment for injuries from the shooting, according to PPNM, which noted that some prison department staff were also reportedly injured. “As the fighting went on outside, confrontations between political prisoners and prison authorities also happened on the inside. This reportedly arose from prisoners trying to escape,” Thike Tun Oo told Myanmar Now. “The prison authorities opened fire to hold them back, and it cause the political prisoners’ deaths.” Htoo Lay, the leader of the Daung Sit Aung group, said that a dwindling supply of ammunition and damage to the group’s small arms forced their fighters to retreat after battling for more than two hours to rescue political prisoners inside. “We fired two rockets. We aimed at the prison gates to try to breach them. There was gunfire from inside the prison. There was also gunfire from the police station,” Htoo Lay said. “We exchanged fire with the police station. As shooting continued from the prison entrance, central watchtower, and from guards in front of the prison, we fired back.” Magway Prison houses some prominent political figures and dissidents including Dr. Aung Moe Nyo, who served as chief minister of Magway Region and speaker of the regional parliament before the 2021 military coup. Authorities are subjecting political prisoners to interrogation about the violence that day, according to PPNM’s statement. A prison-connected source said Win Myint Hlaing—an ousted legislator and member of the National League for Democracy party—and Aung Khant Oo of the Beikthano People's Defense Force—also known as Par Lay—are among those being interrogated. Junta-controlled courts have sentenced Aung Khant Oo to 203 years’ imprisonment on charges under the Counterterrorism Law and statutes on sedition, while Win Myint Hlaing is serving a sentence of 173 years. Another source close to Win Myint Hlaing's family said his relatives are also seeking information, having heard about the likelihood that he is under interrogation in the prison. “We haven't been able to make contact yet. We don’t know for sure,” the source said. Htoo Lay denied that any inmates inside the prison were involved in or connected to Daung Sit Aung’s operation on April 13, which was not coordinated with them. “We had no contact with anyone inside. We launched this military mission ourselves with the desire to free political prisoners,” Htoo Lay said. Myanmar Now phoned the office of the junta-appointed social affairs minister of Magway Region, who serves as the regime’s regional spokesperson, to inquire about the events at Magway Prison and the deaths of political prisoners. The person who answered only said he was out of the office. Pro-junta propaganda channels on social media posted on the day after the gunfight that People’s Defence Force fighters had attacked Magway Prison with 107mm rocket rounds during the first day of Thingyan, and that the fighting continued until 8pm. According to data released by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, as of the second week of April, at least 29,030 people had been arrested for opposing the junta in the four years and two months since the military coup, with 22,197 still detained. Among the detainees, 10,769 have received prison sentences.

Battle outside Magway prison leads to shooting death of two political prisoners

Among the political prisoners incarcerated in Magway Prison are an ousted politician and resistance member who are each serving sentences of more than 150 years

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