The friend and the young man were randomly taken from their bikes as they headed home. They were then subject to hours of torture in a military-run town hall.
The young man said to himself, starlight exploding in front of his eyes. “I love your mom.
The Myanmar military has been torturing its detainees since February’s takeover of the government, The Associated Press discovered in interviews with 28 people who were released or imprisoned in recent months. The AP investigation, which includes photographic evidence, letters, sketches, and letters as well as testimony from two military captains, and an aide of a high-ranking command, provides the most complete look into a secretive system that has detained more than 9,000 people.
Although most torture took place in military facilities, the Tatmadaw military has transformed community halls and other public spaces into interrogation centres, prisoners claimed. The AP listed a dozen interrogation centres in Myanmar that are used in addition to prisons or police lockups.
Interviewees came from all corners of the country and included everything from 16-year-old girls to monks. Some were held because they protested against the military while others were not clear. The interrogations involved multiple military units and police, with similar torture methods across Myanmar.
The Myanmar military has a long history in torture, especially before the country’s transition to democracy in 2010. AP’s investigation revealed that torture has been used again in Myanmar, even though it was more common in the ethnic areas. Most of the torture methods described by prisoners are similar to those used in the past, such as electric shocks, near drownings, and constant beatings.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (which monitors arrests and deaths), this torture is the most severe and extensive. According to the group, more than 1,200 people have been killed by security forces since February. This includes at least 131 tortured death row detainees.
Ko Bo Kyi, AAPP joint secretary, and former political prisoner, says that the military tortures detainees first for revenge, then to obtain information. “I believe that the military has become more brutal in many ways.”
The military also tried to conceal evidence it tortured prisoners. Several prisoners claimed that interrogators only brutalized the parts of their bodies that could not be covered by clothing. A Chin state aide said that two tortured prisoners were killed by soldiers, prompting a military doctor falsifying their autopsy reports.
An ex-army captain defected to the Tatmadaw in March and confirmed to the AP the use of torture against prisoners by the military since its takeover.
Lin Htet Aung, the ex-captain, said that “in our country, after having been unfairly arrested, there is torture and violence happening constantly.”
After being asked for detailed information, military officials replied with a simple email saying: “We don’t plan to answer these absurd questions.”
The AP interviewed all but six prisoners who were subject to abuse, including children and women. Most prisoners who were not abused claimed that their fellow inmates were.
The AP also provided photographs of torture victims’ injuries to a forensic pathologist from Physicians for Human Rights. The pathologist concluded that three victims had suffered injuries consistent with being beaten by rods or sticks.
Dr. Lindsey Thomas, a forensic pathologist, says that some injuries are just black and white from one end to another. This was more than a simple swat. This gives the impression of being very deliberate and forceful.
Photographs of detention and interrogation centers confirmed that prisoners were living in filthy, cramped conditions. The majority of inmates slept on concrete floors that were packed like sardines.
Some people became ill from drinking water from a communal toilet. Their bodies were swarming with cockroaches at night. The Cockroaches received little or no medical attention.
Even the youngest were not spared. A 2-year-old baby and a woman were both imprisoned.
Interrogation centers were worse than prisons. Nights were a cacophony if weeping and wailing of agony.
One man recalls, “It was frightening, my room.” “There were bloodstains and scratches on my wall.”
The young man and his friend made it through the night, despite a lot of pain. The interrogators sent them both to prison when dawn broke.
The small cell housed 33 people. They were next to the single squat toilet.
The young man was too ill to eat, but his fellow inmates shared water.
Two days later, the family of the young man and his friend paid officials for their release. Both men had to sign statements stating that they were anti-police and had taken part in a demonstration.
His entire body was aching for two months. His right shoulder, which was stomped by a soldier, still doesn’t move correctly.
He said, “After they captured us, I knew their hearts and minds weren’t like the peoples’.” They are monsters.
