Human Rights Watch report
Scalded skin, broken bones: detained activists in Myanmar apparently tortured to death
Cell doors of a prison in Myanmar. Those who are detained in the country often do not get out alive
© Assistance Association of Political Prisons/AP/DPA
A regime of fear has reigned in Myanmar since the military coup. Opponents and activists are regularly arrested. Behind bars they face torture – and in many cases a painfully quick death.
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. 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. The results were released on Tuesday. “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.
At least 73 people died in police stations, military interrogation centers and prisons. 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.”
Many fear reprisals if they expose the junta’s atrocities. Despite the great danger, the organization managed to interview family members of the victims, analyze 40 photos and five videos, and get the opinion of independent doctors.
Bodies show the extent of the torture
“The physical marks on the bodies and faces indicate that these men must have suffered immensely and that torture took place,” said Rohini Haar, an emergency physician consulted with Human Rights Watch who analyzed the images of the bodies. “There are so many signs of abuse and torture that it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what ultimately killed these people.”
Scalded and acid-etched skin, missing teeth, broken bones, deep wounds and severe bruises – the horror those arrested must have endured is almost unimaginable. None of the victims’ families received official medical certificates or autopsy reports from the military, according to HRW.
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 continue to suppress any resistance with bloody violence and have established a regime of fear.
Government tries to cover up torture
The six victims were men between the ages of 43 and 58. Almost all died within 24 hours of their arrest, with one activist dying two months later. The military junta has officially acknowledged very few deaths in custody, but attributed them to illness or heart failure, it said. According to Human Rights Watch, some bodies were cremated immediately after death, or 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, said in October 2021 there were credible reports of “more than 8,000 arbitrarily detained, many of whom were tortured and dozens were tortured to death”. HRW called the junta’s widespread and systematic abuses since the coup – including murder, torture and unlawful detention – crimes against humanity.