Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that after soldiers in Kachin State, northern Burma detained two men over alleged involvement in an anti-government armed group, they were tortured and interrogated illegally. Furthermore, although the men, named Lahpai Gan and Baran Yaun, were turned over to police custody they were then sent back to the military for the interrogation and torture. After that police opened two criminal cases against the men on the basis of the information obtained illegally through torture and arbitrary detention, and without any other evidence upon which to base the cases. Finally, the courts, although aware of these facts, sentenced the two to a total of seven years in prison.
CASE NARRATIVE:
On 9 June 2012 patrolling army troops and paramilitary personnel arrested Lahpai Gan and Baran Yaun on a general suspicion near Talawgyi Village, along with three cattle traders, while they were having lunch and taking a break from driving cattle. There had recently been a battle in the area with members of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). The troops took the men back to the village and assaulted them and detained them at the Buddhist monastery compound. After around three days, they took them by boat at night to the Talawgyi Police Station, and from there, to Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State.
On June 14 Captain Soe Paing of military intelligence took charge of the men, and at the army’s Northern Command Headquarters had them assaulted to the point of drawing blood, tortured and threatened to admit to being KIA soldiers. The methods of torture included techniques commonly reported in Myanmar, in addition to common assault: being forced to kneel on gravel for extended periods, forced simulated or actual homosexual intercourse, burning of genitals with candles, and burning the skin with the blade of a hot knife. They also include particular methods developed apparently in cases concerning Kachin people accused of involvement in the KIA, such as a stress position where the detainee is forced to stand imitating Christ crucified on the cross (since Kachin are predominantly Christian).
While the three traders were released, on the basis of the illegal detention and interrogation, on 26 June 2012 Captain Soe Paing handed the men to the police, who took them to the Kachin State Police Reserve Force premises where they interrogated them further, after which Inspector Ye Lwin lodged a case in court against the two and four other men—two of whom were also detained in Talawgyi and tortured by military intelligence, and two who were not in custody—for being members of an unlawful association.
Then, in the six months that this case was being heard, another police officer, Inspector Thein Win, opened a second case against the two men over a mine blast that had occurred outside the Myitkyina district office, causing damage to property but no casualties. Although his investigation had found five other men as being responsible for the crime, since he had failed to detain any of them he prosecuted these two accused in their stead.
In court, a police witness for the prosecution, Inspector Yan Aye, acknowledged under cross examination that the police had no eyewitnesses to the bombing, and had no evidence to link the two accused men to the crime but had based the case exclusively on the information supposedly obtained during illegal detention and interrogation in the army HQ. Furthermore, the defendants showed to the court the scars of injuries suffered while being tortured. Nevertheless, the court accepted the evidence obtained through use of torture in illegal detention, in violation of the Evidence Act and Criminal Procedure Code, and while releasing the two other detained accused of the charges, convicted Lahpai Gan and Baran Yaun.
The two men have throughout maintained their innocence and have appealed to successive courts to have the convictions overturned but the case has not been reheard in any court. Their lawyer is now taking the case to the final possible step in the judicial process of a special appeal to the Supreme Court; however, to have a special appeal accepted and heard is a difficult process and the prospects are not at all good.
Further details are provided in the sample letter below, as usual.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In Burma, torture is widespread in police stations, where it most commonly takes the form of beatings and other blunt methods intended to cause pain and obtain a confession. In normal criminal cases like murder, rape and robbery, police have to take immediate action and give a report to the higher authorities promptly, so they usually look for an easy target and use torture to get a confession or otherwise make the detainee do what they want.
In the previous urgent appeals the AHRC has express its concern over police and military intelligence torture, sometimes resulting in death, such as in the cases of Ko Nan Win and Ma Than Than Aye, Soe Lin, Zaw Gyi, U Nyunt Tun, U Than Tun, Aung Hlaing Win, Myo Myint Swe, and Nan Woh Phan. In most cases also the court ignores the evidence of torture, to convict the accused.
Torture is not a criminal offence in Burma and police and soldiers are rarely held to account for the abuses committed on detainees in their custody. They are structurally protected via laws that require special authorisations to be given by their own agencies, and others, before they can be charged with crimes. A member of parliament in March 2013 made a statement on the need for a law against torture and for Burma to join the UN Convention against Torture, but up to the current time no action has been taken.
For many more cases and issues concerning human rights in Burma, visit the AHRC’s country homepage: http://www.humanrights.asia/countries/burma.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write a letter to the following government authorities to call for the immediate release of Lahpai Gan and Baran Yaun and for those responsible for their torture and arbitrary detention to be investigated and prosecuted.
Please note that for the purpose of the letter Burma is referred to by its official name, Myanmar.
Please also be informed that the AHRC is writing separate letters to the UN Special Rapporteurs on human rights in Myanmar, on torture, on extrajudicial killings; the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; and, the regional office in Bangkok, calling for their interventions into this matter.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear …………..,
MYANMAR: Police, courts, imprison two men on back of information obtained through torture in illegal army custody
Name of victim:
1. Laphai Gan, currently detained in Myitkyina Prison, Kachin State, Myanmar
2. Baran Yaun, currently detained in Myitkyina Prison
Names of persons involved:
1. Inspector Thein Win, station chief, Police Station No. 1, Myitkyina
2. Inspector Ye Lwin, Police Station No. 1, Myitkyina
3. Sub Inspector Kyaw Myo Naing (investigator)
4. Inspector Aung Mya Than (investigator)
5. Sub Inspector Myo Win Naing (investigator)
6. Sub Inspector Win Shwe (investigator)
7. Inspector Yan Aye
8. Captain Soe Paing, Military Affairs Security platoon, Northern Command HQ, Myitkyina, and personnel
9. Personnel of Infantry Battalion (IB) 37 and People’s Militia
Date of incident: 9 June 2012 to present
Place of incident: Myitkyina, Kachin State, Myanmar
Case details (against victims):
1. Criminal Case No. 1213/2012, Myitkyina Township Court, under section 17(1) of the 1908 Unlawful Associations Act, sentenced to two years in prison on 15 November 2013, Township Judge Myint Htoo presiding; Criminal Appeal No. 126/2013, Myitkyina District Court; Criminal Revision No. 27/2014, Kachin State High Court; Criminal Revision No. 275(b)/2014, Supreme Court, all applications for appeal and revision denied
2. Criminal Case No. 200/2012, Myitkyina District Court, under section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act, sentenced to five years in prison, Deputy District Judge Ne Lin presiding
I am deeply disturbed to learn that after soldiers detained two men over alleged involvement in an anti-government armed group, they were tortured and interrogated illegally. Furthermore, although they were turned over to police custody they were then sent back to the military for the interrogation and torture. After that police opened two criminal cases against the men on the basis of the information obtained illegally through torture and arbitrary detention, and without any other evidence upon which to base the cases. Finally, the courts, although aware of these facts, sentenced the two to a total of seven years in prison.
According to the information I have received, around 7.45pm on 3 December 2011, a mine exploded in front of the Myitkyina district office at the corner of Tatgon Sanbya Road and Duwa Road, Tatgon Ward in Myitkyina, causing damage to property but no casualties. An investigation headed by Inspector Thein Win found that a unit of five Kachin Independence Army (KIA) personnel allegedly had planted the mine.
Neither Lahpai Gan nor Baran Yaun was included among the five accused. However, on 9 June 2012 patrolling troops from IB 37 and paramilitary personnel arrested them on a general suspicion near Talawgyi Village, along with three cattle traders, while they were having lunch and taking a break from driving cattle. The troops took the men back to the village and assaulted them and detained them at the Buddhist monastery compound. After around three days, they took them by boat at night to the Talawgyi Police Station, and from there, to Myitkyina.
On June 14 Captain Soe Paing of military intelligence took charge of the men, and at the army’s Northern Command Headquarters had them assaulted to the point of drawing blood, tortured and threatened to admit to being KIA soldiers. The methods of torture included techniques commonly reported in Myanmar, in addition to common assault: being forced to kneel on gravel for extended periods, forced simulated or actual homosexual intercourse, burning of genitals with candles, and burning the skin with the blade of a hot knife. They also include particular methods developed apparently in cases concerning Kachin people accused of involvement in the KIA, such as a stress position where the detainee is forced to stand imitating Christ crucified on the cross (since Kachin are predominantly Christian).
While the three traders were released, on the basis of the illegal detention and interrogation, on 26 June 2012 Captain Soe Paing handed the men to the police, who took them to the Kachin State Police Reserve Force premises where they interrogated them further, after which Inspector Ye Lwin lodged a case in court against the two and four other men—two of whom were also detained in Talawgyi and tortured by military intelligence, and two who were not in custody—for being members of an unlawful association. Then, in the six months that this case was being heard, Inspector Thein Win having failed to detain and prosecute any of the five accused of the mine blast opened a second case against Lahpai Gan and Baran Yaun in their stead.
In court, a police witness for the prosecution, Inspector Yan Aye, acknowledged under cross examination that the police had no eyewitnesses to the bombing, and had no evidence to link the two accused men to the crime but had based the case exclusively on the information supposedly obtained during illegal detention and interrogation in the army HQ. Furthermore, the defendants showed to the court the scars of injuries suffered while being tortured. Nevertheless, the court accepted the evidence obtained through use of torture in illegal detention, in violation of the Evidence Act and Criminal Procedure Code, and while releasing the two other detained accused of the charges, convicted Lahpai Gan and Baran Yaun.
The two men have throughout maintained their innocence and have appealed to successive courts to have the convictions overturned but the case has not been reheard in any court. Their lawyer is now taking the case to the final possible step in the judicial process of a special appeal to the Supreme Court; however, to have a special appeal accepted and heard is a difficult process and the prospects are not at all good.
In view of the above, I call for intervention from the highest levels in Myanmar to secure the release of Lahpai Gan and Baran Yaun from prison, and for the criminal investigation and prosecution of the army and police personnel responsible for torturing them.
In closing, I remain very concerned that impunity is still widely enjoyed by state agents who have committed torture in Myanmar despite the government’s recent political reforms. I have learned that groups inside the country have called on its parliamentarians to pass a law to criminalize torture, and that in March 2013 a Member of Parliament also raised the matter in the national legislature. I urge that steps be taken to introduce such a law at the earliest opportunity. Again, any such law needs to be in accordance with international standards. In this regard, a positive commitment to the prohibition of torture as a matter of principle would be for the government of Myanmar to at long last ratify both the UN Convention against Torture and its optional protocols, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
I look forward to your positive and effective response in this case.
Yours sincerely,
—————-
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Lt-Gen. Ko Ko
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. U Thein Sein
President of Myanmar
President Office
Office No.18
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
3. U Tun Tun Oo
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. Dr. Tun Shin
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. U Kyaw Kyaw Htun
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
6. Thura U Aung Ko
Chairman
Pyithu Hluttaw Judicial and Legislative Committee
Pythu Hluttaw Office
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
7. U Aung Nyein
Chairman
Pyithu Hluttaw Judicial and Legislative Committee
Committee for Public Complaints and Appeals
Office of the Amyotha Hluttaw
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
8. U Win Mra
Chairman
Myanmar National Human Rights Commission
27 Pyay Road
Hlaing Township
Yangon
MYANMAR
Tel: +95-1-659 668
Fax: +95-1-659 668
9. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
Chairwoman
Pyithu Hluttaw Rule of Law and Tranquility Committee
Office of the Pyithu Hluttaw
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
