Inside Myanmar’s notorious Obo Prison

An aerial view of Mandalay’s Obo Prison, notorious for the deaths and abuse of political prisoners. (Photo: Myanmar Now) At Mandalay’s Obo Prison, death has become routine. Over the past year, at least 40 political prisoners have perished behind its walls—casualties of beatings, neglect, and a system designed to break dissent. On June 12, the prison’s violence was once again laid bare. That day, more than 150 inmates were transferred from Monywa Prison in Sagaing to Obo, among them prominent activist Wai Moe Naing of the Monywa People’s Strike Committee. But instead of cells, they were first met with fists, iron pipes, and rubber batons. According to accounts from inside, roughly 50 men—half prison staff, half inmates acting as enforcers—lined the corridor between the dormitories and unleashed hours of systematic beatings. The operation, witnesses said, was overseen by senior officials, including Deputy Prison Warden Kyaw Lwin Oo and Chief Jailor Myint Htun, who directed the assaults as if staging a demonstration of absolute control.“The prisoners were forced to keep their heads bowed and walk hunched over while being beaten from behind all the way to the dormitory,” a prison staff member from Obo Prison said. “Wai Moe Naing suffered a head fracture at the prison entrance.”Obo Prison houses around 10,000 inmates, including 1,200 political prisoners. Among the notable detainees, Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, Chief Minister of Mandalay Region, died last year due to inadequate medical care. This violence would continue for many months ahead.Obo Prison, long notorious for its brutality, has become a death trap for Myanmar’s political prisoners. At least 40 detainees have died there in the past year, victims of orchestrated beatings, deliberate medical neglect, and a system designed to crush dissent—turning the prison into a symbol of the junta’s campaign to silence opposition.Since the 2021 coup, the treatment of prisoners, especially political prisoners, has worsened, with dozens of political prisoners held by Myanmar’s junta dying in custody, largely due to neglect, poor medical care, and harsh treatment. Aung Kyaw Oo, the 69-year-old Speaker of the Mandalay Region Parliament, endured four years inside Obo Prison before his body gave out. Wracked by relentless diarrhea, bouts of bloodied vomiting, and violent coughing, he died on the morning of June 27. Two hours later, prison officers wheeled him toward an ambulance, pausing to take photographs. All part of a stunt to indicate to anyone watching that the prison was attempting to save his life.“They wanted it to appear as though, because he was an important figure, he was only taken to the hospital once his condition turned critical—and that he died on the way,” a prison staff member told Myanmar Now, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisals.“In truth, however, they had sent a dead body.”‘Hospital holds no authority’While the junta generals prepare for the December election, they appear to be deliberately ratcheting up inhumane conditions inside prisons across the country. Experts describe Obo Prison as one of Myanmar’s worst—an institution where torture is routine and the deaths of high-profile political prisoners have surfaced this year. Aung Kyaw Oo, a representative of the National League for Democracy (NLD), secured victory once again in his former constituency of Patheingyi Township in the 2020 election. Aung Kyaw Oo, pictured while serving as Speaker of Myanmar’s former Parliament. (Photo: Supplied) But before parliament could reconvene in 2021, the junta’s coup upended Aung Kyaw Oo’s life. He was arrested, handed a five-year sentence, and his home was destroyed. The former Speaker, already battling diabetes and hypertension, developed a heart condition while confined in Obo Prison’s Cell 1.Despite a prison doctor’s recommendation, his access to care was limited. He was briefly taken to Mandalay Hospital in March, and again in June, when doctors prepared to admit him overnight—before he was sent back to his cell. “Doctors recommended implanting a pacemaker and explained that he needed 24 hours of hospital monitoring beforehand, which required an overnight stay,” U Kyaw, a close friend and comrade of Aung Kyaw Oo, explained. “When prison staff called the authorities to request approval, they were refused, with orders allowing only a check-up and not admission or treatment. As a result, he was denied the implant and sent back to prison.” On the night of June 26, Aung Kyaw Oo suffered a violent coughing fit followed by a heart attack. But the two guards on duty—lance corporal Than Moe and private San Min Naing—failed to alert their superiors, later claiming their radios were not working, a prison staff member told Myanmar Now. Procedure required guards to alert a security officer, who would then summon medical staff, but even opening a dormitory door could be delayed while waiting for the warden’s approval, the source said. By the time authorities reached Aung Kyaw Oo around 5 am on June 27, Aung Kyaw Oo was motionless. His body was placed in an ambulance driven by junior officer Moe Ko Htoo. “When the two staff checked on him again, Aung Kyaw Oo was asleep, and they said he seemed better. But around 3am, he coughed, vomited blood, and had diarrhea. Only then did they file a report,” the Obo Prison staff told Myanmar Now. Aung Kyaw Oo was cremated under the supervision of prison authorities on June 28, 2025. (Photo: Supplied) The junta’s June 28 newspaper reported that Aung Kyaw Oo died of coronary artery disease after being rushed from Obo Prison to Mandalay Hospital. Sources within the prison say the report was fabricated to shield the authorities from blame. “The hospital in-charge no longer holds real authority. Since the facility is controlled by the army, the doctor’s decisions depend entirely on the prison warden, and he must comply with the prison authorities. That’s why they attached an IV drip to a dead body,” another staff member at Obo told Myanmar Now. Multiple sources confirmed that the prison authorities did not return his body to the family and cremated it themselves. That same day, U Kyaw, who also supports families of political prisoners, went to the hospital after hearing that Aung Kyaw Oo had been admitted. “He wasn’t in the cardiac ward, and no one in the emergency ward knew anything either,” he said. “We later learned he had already been taken to the morgue.” ‘Lined up and beaten’ In the weeks prior to Aung Kyaw Oo’s death, Prison Warden Thein Zaw Maung carried out other acts of violence, sources say. Prison Warden Thein Zaw Maung (far right) is pictured applauding at the prisoner amnesty release program in April. (Photo: Ministry of Information) On June 12, more than 150 inmates were transferred from Monywa Prison in Sagaing Region to Obo Prison, among them prominent political detainees. Observers believe the move targeted prisoners seen as influential inside Monywa, particularly those involved in organising hunger strikes and collective resistance. The transfer quickly turned violent. As the inmates stepped off the vehicles, they were met with a coordinated assault by dozens of men acting under orders from Obo officials. Senior jailors and wardens oversaw the beatings, carried out with batons and iron pipes, setting the tone for the prisoners’ arrival inside Myanmar’s second-largest prison.The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) verified the transfer and reported injuries to the transferred inmates that went untreated by authorities. “Corporal Kyi Win Maung first beat them with a baton before taking them through the main gate of the prison,” the same Obo Prison staff said. “Once inside, they were forced to lower their heads, lined up, and beaten again.” Wai Moe Naing giving a speech at an anti-coup protest on March 28, 2021 (Photo: Wai Moe Naing’s Facebook page) Wai Moe Naing, known affectionately as “Panda” in his hometown of Monywa, led near-daily protests against the coup in 2021 until undercover junta officers rammed him with a car and arrested him that April. Later sentenced to 74 years on charges ranging from sedition to treason, he continued resisting behind bars. In September, he joined a hunger strike that swelled to more than 50 political prisoners, forcing authorities to concede on basic demands for personal belongings and healthcare. Wai Moe Naing, a large man with his hands and legs shackled, struggled to move as he stepped out of the vehicle, according to a woman close to him who requested anonymity out of fear of reprisals, told Myanmar Now. “They told him to get off quickly, but being cuffed at his wrists and ankles and a large man, he couldn’t move fast. They cursed at him, pressured him, and got into an argument with Wai Moe Naing, then beat him for talking back,” the source said. Prison officers planned to punish the 14 inmates who started the hunger strike. Wai Moe Naing and Chaung-U protest leader Man Zar Myay Mon requested that only two of them be punished, but they were reportedly excluded from the list, the friend told Myanmar Now. “Held in isolation, he had more relaxed conditions than the others, which allowed him to act on their behalf,” she said. Wai Moe Naing, displayed in junta media after being struck by a car and arrested during an anti-coup protest. (Source: Supplied) After enduring severe torture by junta troops, Wai Moe Naing and the group of prisoners were moved to Vimutti Dormitory in three batches. Before being taken to the dormitory—which has three rooms and a capacity of about 50 people—the initial beatings in the hall at the main prison gate were carried out by five people, including Corporal Kyi Win Maung, Lance Corporal Yan Naing Soe, and Deputy Supervisor-level jailor San Min, the Obo Prison Staff member added. Afterwards, 25 inmates from the main prison—who held disciplinary positions and carried out orders from the authorities—together with 25 new prison staff, continuously beat the prisoners using rubber batons, rubber-coated iron batons, and iron pipes. Deputy Prison Warden Kyaw Lwin Oo, an Assistant Director, led the beatings along the corridor linking the dormitories. Chief Jailor Myint Htun and Deputy Supervisors Yan Naing Oo, Myat Soe Thu, and Soe Thura also took part in physically assaulting the prisoners, the prison staff source told Myanmar Now. “The prisoners were forced to keep their heads bowed and walk hunched over while being beaten from behind all the way to the dormitory,” the source said. “Wai Moe Naing suffered a head fracture at the prison entrance.” Wai Moe Naing lost consciousness, and then was taken to Wing 1 of the Solitary Building 1 under Deputy Supervisor Soe Thura. Prison hospital in-charge Dr. Moe Hein recommended that he be sent to Mandalay General Hospital, but Prison Warden Thein Zaw Maung refused. The prison warden refused to send him to an outside hospital, insisting on treatment inside the prison out of fear it would cause a disturbance and draw public attention, the source added. The same source close to Wai Moe Naing explained that after the violent incident, he suffered fractures to his head and eyebrow and a dislocated forearm. Despite these injuries, he was not given even a full day of treatment at the prison hospital. Over 100 inmates, who may have suffered internal injuries from beatings with iron batons and rubber-coated iron pipes, were given only topical ointment for their bruises and lacerations. Inside Obo, authority extended beyond the guards. The warden relied on a handpicked group of inmate enforcers who acted as his bodyguards, monitored attendance, and oversaw security checks. According to a senior staff member, several of these trusted prisoners were also tied to drug trafficking and profiting heavily under his watch. Since taking charge at Obo, Thein Zaw Maung armed 35 inmates with batons, slingshots, and electric shock devices, using them as bodyguards and enforcers against fellow prisoners. Under his rule, sick inmates were routinely denied proper care—sent back to their cells instead of the prison hospital, and transferred to Mandalay Hospital only when close to death. At least 40 prisoners have died during his tenure, the prison source said.“The prison warden disciplined regular staff,” the Obo prison staff said. “But those he had groomed were allowed to act without restraint.” Aung San Suu Kyi and Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, pictured before the 2021 coup. (Photo: Supplied) ‘The cell reeked of blood’ Former prisoner Ko Soe—who spoke under a pseudonym after his release from Obo Prison in 2023—recalled how authorities singled out political detainees they feared could rally others. These prisoners were beaten with the clear intent of breaking their will. The assaults often began with guards dousing inmates with water, before handpicked criminal enforcers swarmed them in coordinated attacks, he said. “The disciplinary inmate himself would also beat prisoners before assigning them to different dormitories,” Ko Soe said. “Before the assignments, inmates were forced to sit in stress and torture positions, and those who did not comply were beaten as well.” On the night of August 8, 2021, anti-dictatorship songs were sung inside Obo Prison. In response, on that same night, more than 30 political prisoners were reportedly beaten with batons and wooden clubs by dozens of people. Those who were beaten were then sent to solitary confinement, Koe Soe recounted. “Those who were bleeding weren’t even sent to the clinic,” Ko Soe said. “They were packed into a cell meant for two to five at a time. The cell reeked of blood.” Similarly, in Yangon’s Insein Prison, political prisoners who protested on the one-month anniversary of the deaths of four prisoners, including Ko Jimmy and Phyo Zeya Thaw—who had been sentenced to death—were brutally suppressed, a former inmate who spent over four years there told Myanmar Now. “Those who took part in Ko Jimmy’s one-month anniversary were forced to lay on their stomachs and whipped with pulley cords and tightly rolled newspapers,” Koe Soe said. “The instruments left no visible marks, but caused severe pain. Prisoners were cuffed at the ankles before the beatings.”Inmates serving sentences for crimes such as theft and robbery also participated in the beatings alongside prison staff. The total number of prisoners assaulted is unknown. Political prisoners often sustained injuries during interrogation, but were denied proper medical care in prison. According to a public statement, 26-year-old Wutt Yee Aung, a central executive committee member of the Dagon University Students’ Union, died in Insein Prison from injuries inflicted during severe torture at the interrogation camp. Political prisoner Wut Yee Aung died in Insein Prison on July 20, 2025 due to inadequate treatment for injuries she sustained during interrogation. (Photo: Facebook) Ko Soe explained that in Obo Prison, even providing support to injured inmates was considered a punishable offense. “After prisoners were beaten and sent to solitary confinement, no one could give them any medicine,” he said. “It was difficult even to hand them a small tube of camphor balm, as they were constantly monitored on CCTV. Even when prisoners were sent to the clinic, they were given only paracetamol, regardless of the illness.” *The names of some sources have been changed to protect them, and their families, from reprisals.

Inside Myanmar’s notorious Obo Prison

Behind the walls of Mandalay’s most feared jail, political prisoners face orchestrated beatings, medical neglect, and death by design

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