Inside Myanmar’s Prisons: ‘They are slowly killing them’

July 19 is commemorated as Martyrs’ Day in Myanmar, marking the anniversary of the day in 1947 that independence hero Bogyoke Aung San and other members of his interim government were assassinated. Nearly 80 years later, people still solemnly mourn the loss of one of the country’s greatest leaders by standing in the streets while cars and buses honk for two minutes at 10:37 in the morning. This year, the occasion was even more sorrowful than usual for many, as they were forced to confront another tragic passing: that of 26-year-old political activist Wut Yee Aung, who died that day in Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison. Her friends and family, who knew her as Mi Mi, were joined by countless others on social media in lamenting yet another life taken away too soon. Her untimely and unjust death has served as a reminder of the many sacrifices that she and others of her generation have had to make since the military seized power yet again in February 2021, reigniting the deadly cycle of violence and oppression that has plagued Myanmar for most of its modern history. A helping hand Wut Yee Aung was a second-year student at Dagon University in Yangon when she volunteered to assist in the response to the Covid-19 pandemic that struck in 2020. After helping for a while in Yangon, she decided—against her family’s wishes—to travel to Rakhine State to take part in efforts to contain the spread of the disease there. “We didn’t want her to travel to Rakhine State or volunteer at the Covid centres in Yangon, but she took no heed. She just went ahead with her plan,” said a close relative who did not want to be identified, for fear of repercussions. “She was a helping hand to her friends and people around her. Volunteering was her joy.” While others avoided going out due to fear of contracting Covid—which killed nearly 20,000 people in Myanmar by 2023, according to the World Health Organisation—Wut Yee Aung willingly put her own health at risk to ensure that others were properly cared for. “Most people were worried about being infected, but Wut Yee went from door to door, delivering food to patients’ houses and transporting oxygen tanks,” she said. “She believed the disease would not affect her because she was healthy and strong.” Mourners gather around the casket of Wut Yee Aung to pay their respects (Photo: Myanmar Now) Iron heart Less than a year into the pandemic, Myanmar was hit by another disaster: the coup that upended Wut Yee Aung’s education and shattered the hopes of others her age who had believed their country had finally escaped from decades of military rule. Outraged by the overthrow of their elected government, huge crowds took to the streets in protest. Many were brutally murdered, and many more were arrested. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a total of 29,448 people were detained, of whom 22,222 remain in prisons. Wut Yee Aung’s arrest came on the night of September 14, 2021, during a dinner gathering with friends. For days, her family had no idea where she had been taken. Then they learned that she was at the Yay Kyi Aing interrogation centre in Yangon’s Mingaladon Township, a place known for its harsh treatment of political prisoners. It was only after 11 days that her mother was allowed to see her. The police captain who arranged the visit said the charges against her would be reduced if Wut Yee Aung admitted to her involvement in the protests earlier that year. When she declined to cooperate, the police captain asked her if she had any sympathy for her mother. “She responded that her mother had nothing to do with it,” said the relative, adding that throughout the whole encounter, Wut Yee Aung said little, but just smiled at the police captain’s questions. “The police captain was not happy with her response, saying she was very stubborn for a young woman.” Stoic strength Wut Yee Aung was later sentenced to seven years in prison under Section 505a of the Penal Code and 52a of the Counter-terrorism Law. But by December 2021, her lawyer informed her family that she was gravely ill. Asked about the cause of Wut Yee Aung’s sudden health problems, her relative responded cautiously. “Don’t make me say it,” she said, then added: “I’m sure you know what happened to her.” Wut Yee kept her suffering mostly to herself, telling her family that she would write a book about her experience after her release. She did this because she didn’t want to make her mother sad, her relative explained. “She told me we will know the whole story when the book comes out.” She handled her own suffering stoically, and also encouraged others to set their feelings aside, even as they wept for her while her health deteriorated. Her inspiration was taken from advice that her father once gave to her and her siblings: to live in such a way that even if you die, your name will live on. But for those who loved her in life, Wut Yee Aung’s death remains an almost unbearable blow. “She’s gone now. It’s all over. I can’t say anything else,” said her relative, sobbing as she ended our conversation. Mourners carry the body of Wut Yee Aung at her funeral on July 22 (Photo: Myanmar Now) Dying inside prison Wut Yee Aung is far from alone in dying a lonely death behind bars in Myanmar. Since the coup, many others have met a similar fate. Some, like prominent political prisoners Ko Jimmy and Phyo Zeyar Thaw, who were executed in July 2022, made headlines with their deaths; many others die almost unnoticed by the outside world. In some cases, prisoners die at the hands of their jailers; in others, it is neglect that kills them. Injuries inflicted during brutal interrogations sessions often go untreated, resulting in a slow and agonising death, according to former political prisoners. Ahla Lay Thuzar, a former cellmate of Wut Yee Aung, said that prison authorities simply ignore the internal injuries of inmates, allowing them to worsen to the point that they prove fatal. “Prisoners never get effective treatment in Myanmar,” she said. “I have witnessed this, and also experienced it during my time in prison.” Wut Yee Aung was sick most of the time that she was in prison, according to Ahla Lay Thuzar. She was often unconscious due to the head injuries that she sustained during her interrogation. Despite her obvious poor health, however, she was locked up like other prisoners and denied medical attention. “Although her health was clearly getting worse, she did not receive any treatment. That’s how a young person like her died in prison,” she told Myanmar Now. Shwe Theingi, chair of the Dagon University Students’ Union, also attested to the inadequate care given to political prisoners, who are often singled out for harsher treatment by prison authorities. She added that the families of political prisoners are routinely denied information about their health until it is too late to do anything to help them. “Only when she was coming to her last breath was her family notified and told to go see her at the public hospital,” she said. According to Bo Kyi, joint secretary of the AAPP, the situation inside Myanmar’s prisons has only worsened in the four years since the coup. He said the denial of medical treatment is deliberate, aimed at quietly killing prisoners who have dared to demand an end to military rule. “They are killing them, slowly and intentionally,” he said, adding that the international community needs to do more to pressure the regime to release all political prisoners.

Inside Myanmar’s Prisons: ‘They are slowly killing them’

The recent death of activist Wut Yee Aung is just the latest example of the junta’s deliberate—and deadly—neglect of injured political prisoners

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