Lahpai Gam, an elderly prisoner of conscience in Kachin State, is suffering from serious health problems that may have been caused by torture at the hands of Myanmar Army officials, who arrested him in 2012. Amnesty International is calling for authorities to grant him access to healthcare and an immediate and unconditional release.
Lahpai Gam has been hospitalized since March 2017, where he was transferred from Myitkyina prison in Kachin State. He is suffering from anal bleeding and serious stomach problems and has received several blood transfusions. According to sources close to him, Lahpai Gam does not fully understand the serious health problems he faces nor the treatment he requires, raising concerns that he does not have access to adequate medical care.
In June 2012, Lahpai Gam was working as a cattle herder when was arrested along with six other people by the Myanmar Army in Kachin State. He was held incommunicado for almost a month before being transferred to Myitkyina prison.
During his interrogation, Lahpai Gam was tortured. In addition to being beaten with an iron rod and having a bamboo stick rolled up and down his knees, he was forced into same-sex intercourse with another inmate.
He was charged in 2012 with being a member of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) under Article 17(1) of the 1908 Unlawful Association Act and with four counts under the 1908 Explosive Substances Act. He was sentenced to a total of 20 years in prison.
The Unlawful Associations Act has long been used by Myanmar authorities to arbitrarily arrest and detain people in Myanmar, in particular people in ethnic and religious minority areas. It grants authorities sweeping powers to arrest people considered to be part of an “unlawful association” – though it does not clearly define what an unlawful association is.
However, due to insufficient evidence, Myanmar’s Supreme Court overturned the convictions for the Unlawful Association Act and two counts under the Explosive Substances Act.
The two remaining charges under the Explosive Substances Act, which relate to bombs that were planted near different bridges in Kachin State, were upheld on the basis of a confession letter dated from the time he was tortured and held incommunicado. Lahpai Gam was sentenced to eight years in prison under these charges.
According to Amnesty’s sources, he maintains that he is solely a farmer and not a member of the KIA and has never signed a confession letter nor planted the bombs.
In November 2013, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) declared Lahpai Gam’s arrest and detention to be arbitrary.
Amnesty is now calling for members of the public to send appeals on behalf of Lahpai Gam to the director-general of Myitkyina prison, as well as to Minister of Home Affairs Lt. Gen. Kyaw Swe and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, before May 19.
