According to human rights activists, since the military coup in Myanmar a year and a half ago, numerous arrested opponents of the junta have died atrociously in custody. The organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) has documented in detail six cases in the past few months in which activists have either been tortured to death or died because they were denied medical care. “These deaths are just the tip of the iceberg of the suffering and torture at the hands of the military and police,” said Manny Maung, the organization’s Myanmar expert.
In February 2021, the military staged a coup against the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The Nobel Peace Prize winner is in solitary confinement in prison. The generals suppress resistance with bloody violence and have established a regime of fear.
At least 73 people have died in police stations, military interrogation centers and prisons, HRW reports. The prisoner aid organization AAPP even estimates that almost 700 citizens could have died shortly after their arrest, Maung told the German Press Agency. “However, we have only been able to speak to witnesses and sources linked to six people because there is so much fear.”
A lot of signs of torture
The six victims were males between the ages of 43 and 58, according to Human Rights Watch. Almost all died within 24 hours of their arrest, one activist died after two months. The military junta has officially acknowledged very few deaths in custody, but attributed them to illness or heart failure, it said.
Many relatives or witnesses fear reprisals if they expose the junta’s atrocities. Despite the great danger, the organization says it managed to speak to family members of the victims, analyze 40 photos and five videos and obtain the opinion of independent doctors.
“It is clear from the physical marks on the bodies and faces that these men must have suffered immensely and that torture took place,” said Rohini Haar, an emergency doctor consulted by Human Rights Watch who analyzed the images of the bodies, according to the organization . “There are so many signs of abuse and torture that it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what ultimately killed these people.”
Some bodies are quickly cremated – to cover up torture
Scalded and acid-etched skin, missing teeth, broken bones, deep wounds and severe bruises – some of those arrested must have suffered great agony. None of the victims’ families received official medical certificates or autopsy reports from the military, according to HRW.
According to information from HRW, some bodies were cremated immediately after death or the families were instructed to have them cremated immediately – apparently to cover up torture. “The families deserve to know what happened to their loved ones,” Maung said. It is unacceptable that some families have not received the bodies of their loved ones to at least deal with the loss.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Tom Andrews, had said in October 2021, he gave credible reports of “more than 8,000 arbitrarily detained, many of whom were tortured and dozens tortured to death”. HRW called the junta’s widespread and systematic abuses since the coup – including murder, torture and unlawful detention – crimes against humanity.