The Political Prisoners Network – Myanmar (PPNM) reported on 31 December that 22 political prisoners died in 2024 due to insufficient healthcare and medical treatment in Myanmar’s prisons.Burmese language learning software
A human rights report examining 41 prisons nationwide revealed that the deceased included 18 male political prisoners, three women, and one transgender individual. The report attributed the deaths to the lack of access to proper healthcare and medication.
“The Prisons Act mandates that inmates receive adequate healthcare, including timely medical treatment and specialized care in external hospitals, when necessary,” said Ko Thaik Htun Oo, a member of PPNM’s steering committee, in an interview with Mizzima.
He added that those who perished included individuals denied nutritious food, detainees with injuries sustained during interrogations, and prisoners suffering from illnesses such as kidney disease caused by unclean drinking water and lack of adequate medical care.
The report also highlighted issues such as delays in obtaining emergency treatment, substandard care by government-appointed medical officers, and prolonged delays in granting hospital transfers due to security concerns.
In addition to the deaths, prison officials and other inmates unlawfully tortured and assaulted 148 political prisoners, both male and female. Among these, 76 were sentenced to solitary confinement, according to the report.
Of the 3,054 prisoners transferred to different facilities, 1,883 political prisoners were moved to prisons far from their families, while 35 women were detained along with their children.
Ko Thaik Htun Oo urged prison authorities to provide timely treatment for ill prisoners and facilitate hospital transfers for those with conditions that cannot be treated within prison facilities.
The report emphasized the need for at least one full-time doctor in smaller prisons and called for reforms to ensure foreign medicines sent by families reach prisoners without interference. It also stressed improving conditions related to food, accommodation, and clean drinking water.
Since the military coup in February 2021, PPNM noted that the junta has continued to commit human rights violations against political prisoners, activists, students, workers, farmers, and ethnic minorities during arrests, interrogations, and detentions.
