Navy seaman who opposed Myanmar military’s coup dies in Insein Prison

A former Myanmar navy enlistee, whom the junta sentenced to death for participating in strikes and protests opposing the 2021 coup, died in prison in Yangon on Saturday, according to prisoners’ rights activists. The 34-year-old serviceman, formerly stationed at Yangon’s Thanlyin naval base, was one of the first among Myanmar’s military personnel to defect to the side of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), which organised strikes and protests to oppose the military’s seizure of power. His body was reportedly cremated at a Yangon cemetery on Monday afternoon. Thike Tun Oo, a steering committee member of the Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM), said that despite authorities’ claims to maintain a water purification system in the prison, inmates were deprived of safe drinking water and given water with high lead levels. The poisoning that resulted from this eventually damaged Pyae Sone Oo’s kidneys and hastened his death, according to Thike Tun Oo. “Pyae Sone Oo was found to be suffering from kidney disease after being imprisoned. I want to urge that political prisoners be provided with adequate drinking water and living conditions,” he said. Pyae Sone Oo suffered from impaired kidney function and pleural effusion while imprisoned, and died after suffering from them for six months, according to the PPNM’s information. The PPNM released a statement on Monday emphasising that prisoners are losing their lives due to inadequate medical care, caused partly by a shortage of doctors and medicines in the country’s prisons. Pyae Sone Oo joined the CDM in March 2021, turning his back on the military junta, and continued participating in anti-coup protests and political activities until his arrest in Yangon’s Hlaing Tharyar Township on August 27, 2022. Because of his political activities and “desertion”, according to Thike Tun Oo, a military-controlled court sentenced him to death in September 2023 under Sections 37 and 32 of the Defence Services Act and Section 50(j) of the Counter-Terrorism Law, and was transferred to Insein Prison. Captain Lin Htet Aung—another defector from the Myanmar military—said that Pyae Sone Oo was clearly imprisoned for his political stance, as he was both a prominent early participant in the CDM and was arrested at the height of his involvement. “The military council bears full responsibility for the death of this political prisoner," he said. “The military council has caused numerous deaths through torture during interrogation and abuse of those detained for political reasons.” According to PPNM records, at least 20 political prisoners have died between January and November 2024 because of insufficient access to effective healthcare in prisons.Former Mandalay Region chief minister Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, age 73, who was serving a 29-year sentence in Mandalay's Obo Prison while suffering from leukaemia, also reportedly endured harsh conditions and a lack of adequate medical treatment before being released a few days before his death.

Navy seaman who opposed Myanmar military’s coup dies in Insein Prison

Pyae Sone Oo, 34, a serviceman who defected to participate in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) protesting the 2021 coup, has died from kidney failure in prison after being handed a death sentence by military authorities

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