Around 20 political prisoners at Loikaw Prison are suffering from malnutrition as a result of cuts to food rations, a lack of physical activity, and restrictions on family visitations, according to the Karenni Political Prisoners Association (KPPA), a civil society group that monitors prisons in Karenni State.
“The military troops have also positioned themselves in the prison so the prisoners cannot walk or do any exercises. This combined with malnutrition may lead to weakness in limbs,” Aung Myo Kyaw, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) joint secretary, told DVB.
He added that Loikaw Prison has over 400 inmates, including around 120 political prisoners. Prison officials are also reportedly facing shortages of food since fighting has escalated between the military and Karenni resistance forces.
The Karenni resistance has claimed to have seized control of six towns in Karenni and Shan states: Mese, Demoso, Ywa Thit, Shadaw, Mawchi and Moebye. While they had controlled roughly 80 percent of the state capital Loikaw since an offensive was launched in November 2023, the military regained control of the city last June.
For each political prisoner, the regime’s Prisons Department has allocated a monthly healthcare budget of just 1,100 MMK ($0.24 USD at the current market rate), according to the Political Prisoners Network of Myanmar (PPNM).
It added that 22 political prisoners across the country died last year due to inadequate medical care and claimed that the exact number could be even higher given that the regime doesn’t allow monitors, nor the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to access its prison system.
Zaw Myint Maung, Mandalay Region chief minister and vice chair of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, – arrested after the 2021 coup – died of leukemia one day after his release from Mandalay Prison on medical grounds. He was serving a 29-year sentence at Obo Prison.
Nyan Win, an NLD Central Executive Committee (CEC) member and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi’s personal lawyer, died in prison from COVID-19 in 2021.
Many NLD leaders held in prison are elderly and require constant medical care. NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence in Naypyidaw, will turn 80 this year. Her son, Kim Aris, has launched a campaign ahead of her birthday on June 19 to raise awareness about her detention by the regime over the last four years.
NLD patron Win Htein is the oldest among the detained NLD leaders at 83. He is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence. President Win Myint, who is serving eight years in prison, is 73.
“We must win this Spring Revolution so we can free political prisoners ourselves,” added Aung Myo Kyaw, referring to the armed uprising against the military that followed the crackdown on peaceful anti-coup protests.
Since the 2021 coup, 28,350 people have been arrested for political reasons and 21,632 remain in regime detention or have been sentenced, according to the AAPP.