More than 20 students who have languished in Myanmar’s Thayarwaddy Prison for more than 10 months are suffering from “serious and potentially life-threatening” medical conditions as a result of poor treatment behind bars, according to new report released today.
Six female detainees allege that they have been sexually abused by guards during their detention, including through “invasive body searches”, the study by the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, the Letpadan Justice Committee and Justice Trust finds.
Of 53 men and women arrested following a crackdown on education reform protests in Letpadan last year, 24 report illnesses including tuberculosis, severe hypertension and gastrointestinal diseases.
“Nothing can justify the way these detainees have been treated,” Matthew Smith, Executive Director of Fortify Rights, said in a statement. “Continued detention in these conditions could become a matter of life or death.”
For the report, a team of researchers and medics interviewed detainees throughout August, November and December last year.
“There is no question that a lot of the medical deterioration [of the detainees] is from a lack of care,” said Dr Thet Min, a doctor with 35 years’ experience, who led the research. “The students of Letpadan need and must receive effective treatment.”
