The detained chief minister of Mandalay, Dr Zaw Myint Maung, has been admitted to hospital inside Obo prison after his health began to deteriorate late last month, a monk who was recently released from the prison said.
Zaw Myint Maung, 70, who is also a vice-chair of the National League for Democracy (NLD), has received limited treatment for his leukemia since he was detained in February, said Ariyawuntha Biwunsa, the head monk of the Myawaddy Min Gyi monastery.
“I heard they’ve been pretty strict with people like him. It’s as if they have no healthcare measures, so it’s pretty bad,” said the monk, who was freed on Monday after being detained for six months for criticising the military.
A family friend of Zaw Myint Maung confirmed that he had been admitted to the prison hospital. “They say he’s been hospitalised for a cough and a runny nose, and that he’s feeling better now,” the friend said.
Zaw Myint Maung is being kept separately from the rest of the prison population and the family have struggled to get news about his condition, but they have heard that he is “barely getting enough treatment and care,” said the friend.
They also fear he will be exposed to Covid-19, the friend said. “He’s definitely not vaccinated yet.”
The junta announced via its propaganda newspapers on Wednesday that 600 prisoners had received vaccines in Obo, with the elderly given first priority. But it is unclear if political prisoners were included.
A doctor who is taking part in the Civil Disobedience Movement against the junta said Zaw Myint Maung may be too sick from leukemia for it to be safe to give him the vaccine.
“It depends on the condition of his leukemia,” the doctor said. “It is true that cancer patients need the vaccine. However, if the leukemia is at the stage where the immune system of the body is compromised, we don’t give them vaccines anymore.”
The junta said on July 25 that 566 prisoners have contracted Covid-19 and nine have died nationwide, though the official figures it has provided for deaths and infections among the general population are considered to be far lower than the true numbers.
One of those who died of the virus in prison was Nyan Win, a senior NLD figure and former party spokesperson. He passed away on July 20 after being transferred to Yangon General Hospital.
Several other senior NLD figures are being held at Obo prison. They include Dr Ye Lwin, the ousted mayor of Mandalay, and the regional former energy minister Zarni Aung. Both men are also in poor health, said Ariyawuntha Biwunsa, though he did not give further details.
Win Mya Mya, 70, the vice chair of the Mandalay branch of the NLD, is in good health, her nephew Soe Moe Aung said.
“It takes two weeks for our letters to get to her, and two more weeks for her letters to reach us,” he said. “So we have to ask people who were released if we want to get updates about her.”
