The Political Prisoners Network – Myanmar (PPNM), which monitors the situation inside the nation’s prison system, stated that a 41-year-old political prisoner named Htay Aung Kyaw died of liver failure at Thayarwaddy Prison in Bago Region on Oct. 13.

The PPNM claimed that Htay Aung Kyaw was repeatedly tortured after his arrest in 2021. He’s one of the over 100 political prisoners to have died since the 2021 military coup, and over 63 who have died from inadequate medical attention, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

“About 100 political prisoners were transferred [to Thayarwaddy Prison] from Insein Prison on Sept. 22. [They] were beaten as usual,” a source who was recently released from Thayarwaddy Prison told DVB on the condition of anonymity. He added that 10 of these political prisoners are being denied medical treatment for injuries.

Htay Aung Kyaw was sentenced to 15 years under the Counter-Terrorism Law in December 2021, accused of providing financial support to a terrorist group. He was first held in Taunggalay Prison, which is located in the Karen State capital Hpa-An. 

But he was later transferred to Mon State’s Kyaikmaraw Prison in 2022, then to Bago Region’s Thayarwaddy Prison at an unknown date after that. This is where he was kept in solitary confinement for seven months and 15 days, the PPNM added. 

Fellow prisoners said that Htay Aung Kyaw suffered from liver problems due to broken ribs sustained from beatings by prison staff. He was transferred to a hospital in Thayarwaddy after his health deteriorated in July, but it lacked adequate medical supplies and specialist doctors to treat him. 

Htay Aung Kyaw was moved back to the prison in September after staff claimed his condition had improved. Anonymous sources close to the prison told DVB that his face and body still showed dark bruises at the time of death. The Thayarwaddy Prison warden’s office did not respond to DVB requests for comment.

Jailed Mandalay Chief Minister and vice-chair of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party Zaw Myint Maung died at Mandalay General Hospital on Oct. 7 – one day after his release from prison on “medical grounds.”