Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has obtained the details of a case in which six men in 2010 were accused of having contact with an insurgent group in the east of Burma. Soldiers and police arrested five of the six villagers, the other one getting away. Of the five men detained, one paid money to be released, while another died due to torture in custody. The remaining three men have been imprisoned for three years each. A lawyer is appealing to the Supreme Court against their sentences, and also is trying to bring a case against the officials responsible for killing and secretly disposing of the body of their co-accused.
CASE NARRATIVE:
In July 2010, Lt. Col. Aung Thaik Htun, commander of Infantry Battalion No. 8, went with his men on two dates to arrest six villagers accused of having contact with the anti-government Karen National Union. Relatives of the men allege that the accusations of involvement with insurgents emerged because of local disputes and because of the corruption of local council officials.
One of the six accused men escaped, but the other five the army took into custody and tortured them to extract confessions. The methods of torture allegedly included setting fire to plastic and dropping it onto the men’s bodies, including the genitals.
As a result of the torture, San Shwe, 38, died in custody on July 11. According to a witness, officials dragged his body “like a pig” to a treed area and buried it in an attempt to cover up the murder.
Of the other four accused, relatives of one paid for him to be released. The other three men, Hla Hpone, 37, Maung La, 69 and Paw La, 54, were taken to court in two separate cases and after short hearings each was given three years in prison.
The convictions of the three men were unlawful because they were based on confessions obtained in army custody that were then given to the police for lodgment in the court. The army also held the men illegally and gave them to the police just prior to their trials. It was only then that cases were opened against them and remand was sought to keep them in custody legally. The police officers that supposedly investigated the cases in fact neither interrogated the accused nor examined any evidence against them before the cases were brought to court.
All of these facts were put on the record and yet the accused were convicted. Furthermore, none of the accused men had a lawyer when they were convicted in the township court and they were not able to defend themselves or cross-examine the police and local council officials who deposed against them. None of the army personnel involved in the case appeared in court. There was no material evidence to link any of the accused to the crimes that they allegedly committed. Nor were there any independent witnesses.
The family of San Shwe lodged a missing person case but the police failed to investigate, even though he was named as among the persons suspected of contact with insurgents in the cases against the three convicted men. They have tried to take a case to court but have so far been unsuccessful at getting an investigation opened. A lawyer for the family is now appealing to the Supreme Court.
Further details of the case are in the sample letter below.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Army officers enjoy heavy impunity for killings, torture and other forms of gross human rights abuse in Burma. It is extremely difficult for relatives and lawyers in this type of case to obtain any type of redress at all, and those that do make an attempt need strong support. For an earlier instance of a death in army custody where the body of the accused was according to a medical report covered in wounds and had broken bones indicating savage torture where the courts likewise refused to open a case see the AHRC’s appeal on Aung Hlaing Win: http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/UA-110-2005
The AHRC has released many appeals in recent times speaking to the same types of evidence-less and procedurally flawed cases in the courts of Burma. All these appeals can be accessed by going to the new AHRC appeals homepage and typing “Burma” or “Myanmar” into the search text box: http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals
The Asian Legal Resource Centre also recently released a special report on rule of law and human rights issues in Burma in accordance with the Universal Periodic Review process for the country at the United Nations in Geneva. The report and annexe are available on the ALRC website at: http://www.alrc.net/doc/mainfile.php/upr/ (scroll to bottom of page).
The AHRC Burmese-language blog (http://burma.blog.humanrights.asia/) is updated constantly for Burmese-language readers, and covers the contents of urgent appeal cases, related news, and special analysis pieces.
REQUESTED ACTION:
Please write to the persons listed below to call for the release of the three men imprisoned in this case and for action to be taken against the officers responsible for the killing of the fourth. Please note that for the purposes of the letter Burma is referred to by its official name, Myanmar.
Please be informed that the AHRC is writing separate letters to the UN Special Rapporteurs on Myanmar, on torture, on extrajudicial execution, and on the independence of judges and lawyers; to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and to the regional human rights office for Southeast Asia calling for interventions into this case.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ___________,
MYANMAR: Man tortured to death and three jailed for alleged contact with insurgents
Details of victims and cases:
1. U San Shwe, 38, resident of Shwe Indon village, Daukyat village tract, Bilin Township, Mon State, Myanmar; arrested and died in custody on 11 July 2010, missing person case lodged by relatives at Bilin Township Police Station
2. Maung Hla Hpone (a.k.a. U Khin Maung Tint), 37, roof thatch seller, resident of Shwe Indon village; arrested on 9 July 2010; transferred to police custody July 22, sentenced to three years in prison on July 23 under section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act, 1908 Bilin Township Court, Criminal Case No. 624/10; leave to appeal in Criminal Appeal Case No. 8/10, Thaton District Court, refused
3. U Maung Thein, 69, resident of Shwe Indon village; arrested on 11 July 2010, transferred to police custody on August 8, sentenced to three years in prison on August 10 under section 17(1), Bilin Township Court, Criminal Case No. 653/10; leave to appeal in Criminal Appeal Case No. 10/10, Thaton District Court, refused on 15 November 2010; leave to appeal in Criminal Revision Case No. 249/10, Mon State Court refused on 13 December 2010
4. U Paw La (a.k.a. U Soe Tint), 54, resident of Shwe Indon village; arrested on 11 July 2010, transferred to police custody on August 8, sentenced to three years in prison on August 10 under section 17(1), Bilin Township Court, Criminal Case No. 653/10; leave to appeal in Criminal Appeal Case No. 10/10, Thaton District Court, refused on 15 November 2010; leave to appeal in Criminal Revision Case No. 249/10, Mon State Court refused on 13 December 2010
5. U La Kwet, resident of Daukyat village; arrested on 11 July 2010, released on August 21 after payment of money
6. U Hsan Maung, resident of Taunglay village, Bilin Township; evaded arrest (named among suspects in cases against other accused)
Details of officials involved:
1. Lieutenant Colonel Aung Thaik Htun, Serial No. (Kyi) 26951, Battalion Commander, Infantry Battalion 8, stationed in Bilin Township, and subordinates: arresting personnel
2. Sub Inspector Chit Swe, Serial No. La/140222, Bilin Township Police Station: plaintiff in Criminal Case Nos. 624 & 653/10, Bilin Township Court
3. Inspector Myo Myo Htun, Serial No. La/168760, Bilin Township Police Station: investigating police officer
4. U Htun Aung, chairman, Daukyat Village Tract Peace and Development Council
5. U Thein Oo, 100-household head, Daukyat Village Tract PDC
6. U Aung Phyo, member, Shwe Indon Village PDC
7. U Win Boe, 100-household head, Shwe Indon Village PDC
8. Township Judge (Special Power) Daw San San Htay, Serial No. Ta/2483, presiding judge in Criminal Case Nos. 624 & 653/10, Bilin Township Court
9. Deputy District Judge Win Myint, presiding judge in Criminal Appeal Case No. 10/10, Thaton District Court
10. Additional State Judge Tin Tin Wa, presiding judge in Criminal Revision Case No. 249/10, Mon State Court
I am shocked to hear that a man taken into army custody in 2010 was tortured to death and his body dumped by officials in an attempt to cover up the murder, while three other men associated with him have been imprisoned for three years each without fair trial because of alleged contacts with insurgents.
According to the information that I have received, Lt. Col. Aung Thaik Htun and his subordinates of IB 8, based in Bilin, in July 2010 went to make arrests of the six accused for allegedly having contacts with the Karen National Union, which is an armed group opposed to the government of Myanmar. One of the six escaped, but the other five were taken into custody and were tortured to extract confessions. The methods of torture allegedly included setting fire to plastic and dropping it onto the men’s bodies, including the genitals. As a result of the torture, U San Shwe died in custody on July 11. Officials allegedly dragged his body to a treed area and buried it in an attempt to cover up the murder.
Of the other four accused, relatives of U La Kwet allegedly paid 150,000 Kyat, or about 160 USD, to be released from custody. The other three men were taken to court in two separate cases and after short hearings each was given three years in prison.
The convictions of the three men were unlawful because they were based on confessions obtained in army custody that were then given to the police for lodgment in the court. The army also held the men illegally–Maung Hla Hpone for approximately 13 days and Maung Thein and Paw La for approximately 28 days–and gave them to the police just prior to their trials. It was only then that cases were opened against them and remand was sought to keep them in custody legally. The police officers that supposedly investigated the cases in fact neither interrogated the accused nor examined any evidence against them before the cases were brought to court.
All of these facts were put on the record and yet the accused were convicted. Furthermore, none of the accused men had a lawyer when they were convicted in the township court and they were not able to defend themselves or cross-examine the police and local council officials who deposed against them. None of the army personnel involved in the case appeared in court. There was no material evidence to link any of the accused to the crimes that they allegedly committed. Nor were there any independent witnesses.
The family of U San Shwe lodged a missing person case at the Bilin Township Police Station but the police failed to investigate, even though he was named as among the persons suspected of contact with insurgents in the cases against the three convicted men in the Bilin Township Court. They have tried to take a case to court but have so far been unsuccessful at getting an investigation opened. As the Mon State Court has refused to hear the case, a lawyer for the family is now appealing to the Supreme Court.
Additionally, according to complaints lodged by relatives of the accused, the accusations of involvement with insurgents emerged because of local disputes. For U Paw La these allegedly relate to unlawful demands for money from local officials U Htun Aung, U Thein Oo and U Aung Phyo. Maung Hla Hpone’s relatives have complained that he was falsely denounced because of a dispute with a business rival.
In view of the above, I urge that steps be taken to release from custody the three men who have been wrongfully and unlawfully imprisoned as soon as possible, either by way of orders from the Supreme Court or through other channels as appropriate. Furthermore, I urge that a special investigation be established into the disappearance and alleged torture and death in custody of U San Shwe, as well as a full coronial inquiry, with a view to holding responsible those army personnel involved in his arrest and killing. I also call for inquiries into the conduct of the case by the police and judicial officers involved, and for investigations into alleged corruption among the council officials who appeared as witnesses against the three men charged.
Yours sincerely,
—————-
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO
1. Maj-Gen. (Retd.) Maung Oo
Minister for Home Affairs
Ministry of Home Affairs
Office No. 10
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel: +95 67 412 079/ 549 393/ 549 663
Fax: +95 67 412 439
2. Lt-Gen. (Retd.) Thein Sein
Prime Minister
c/o Ministry of Defence
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel: + 95 1 372 681
Fax: + 95 1 652 624
3. U Aung Toe
Chief Justice
Office of the Supreme Court
Office No. 24
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel: + 95 67 404 080/ 071/ 078/ 067 or + 95 1 372 145
Fax: + 95 67 404 059
4. U Aye Maung
Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
Office No. 25
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel: +95 67 404 088/ 090/ 092/ 094/ 097
Fax: +95 67 404 146/ 106
5. Brig-Gen. Khin Yi
Director General
Myanmar Police Force
Ministry of Home Affairs
Office No. 10
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel: +95 67 412 079/ 549 393/ 549 663
Fax: +951 549 663 / 549 208
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) (ua@ahrc.asia)
