Nyi Pu, the ousted chief minister of Rakhine State, has been transferred from prison in the state’s capital Sittwe to Insein Prison in Yangon, Myanmar Now has learned.
Myanmar’s military arrested Nyi Pu and other state cabinet ministers when it seized power on February 1, 2021. He was first placed under house arrest and then sent to Sittwe Prison 10 days later.
Initially charged with incitement under Section 505b of the Penal Code, he was later accused of violating the constitution (an offence under Section 130a of the Penal Code) before receiving a nine-year sentence under Section 55 of the Anti-Corruption Law in January of last year.
He is currently serving a total of 11 years and four months in connection with the charges against him.
Nyi Pu’s daughter, Kyi Kyi Oo, said she didn’t know when he was transferred to Insein Prison, but assumed it was after he was sent to Yangon in May to receive treatment for an eye condition.
“He’s already had surgery for his eyes and we got to see him briefly at the hospital. He had his first surgery on May 26 and another one on June 16,” she said.
The regime had long denied the family’s requests to allow Nyi Pu to undergo cataract surgery as his eyesight steadily deteriorated during his time in prison.
“He said his left eye was still a bit blurry but that his right eye became clear right after the surgery. Both eyes needed surgery. We haven’t heard anything about his health in jail, but we were allowed to meet him briefly during both surgeries,” said Kyi Kyi Oo.
The prison authorities did not notify the family about the plan to move him to Insein Prison, she added.
“We weren’t informed of his prison transfer. We only found out he was at Insein Prison when he told us through a messenger,” she said.
Another daughter of Nyi Pu, Moe San Suu Kyi, a youth officer of the ousted ruling party, the National League for Democracy, has also been in regime custody since her arrest on May 9, 2021.
Charged under Section 505a of the Penal Code and Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act, she is currently serving a six-year sentence at Thayarwaddy Prison in Bago Region.
Kyi Kyi Oo stated that she was also able to meet her sister once during her sentencing in June.
“I got to see my sister when she received her sentence for her Section 17(1) charge on June 2. It was a three-year sentence, in addition to the three years she received for her previous Section 505a charge,” said Kyi Kyi Oo.
Moe San Suu Kyi has developed goiter during her time in prison, according to Kyi Kyi Oo, who said that she has not been able to see her sister since she was sentenced, but is able to communicate with her through letters.
On January 4, the military junta announced an amnesty of more than 7,000 prisoners, including 304 from four prisons in Rakhine State. However, none of the imprisoned state cabinet members were among the released prisoners.
