Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received details of a complaint that two brothers have lodged against police in Pegu, Burma over a serious assault. According to them, a group of local police in plain clothes beat them up after the police thought that one was using his mobile phone to take photos of them assaulting four other men whom they had accosted for urinating on the roadside. Since the complaint was lodged in August no action has reportedly been taken against the alleged offenders.
CASE NARRATIVE:
On the night of 11 August 2010, Maung Kyaw Thura and his brother were traveling by motorcycle when they saw five persons beating up four others at the front of divisional courthouse in Pegu town, north of Rangoon. The four had come from a bar and were urinating on the roadside when the group of five–four police and a civilian approached them and saying that they were police, began beating them.
As none of the police were in uniforms, Maung Kyaw Thura and brother also stopped to see what was happening. At that time the brother received a call on his mobile phone. One of the police, commander of Police Station No. 1 in Pegu, Inspector Kaung Zan, walked over and thinking that Aung Win Htaik was taking a photo of the fight with the mobile, grabbed the phone and threw it into the street. The police, whose breath smelled of alcohol, then started assaulting the two brothers with fists and sticks.
After the police beat up the six on the roadside, they took them back to the police station via trishaw. According to the victims, inside the barracks the police said that they would “teach [them] to know [their] place” and forced them to lie prone on the floor. Then the four police beat each of the men around 50 times with metal-buckled belts, kicked them and trampled on them. If the victims made any sound or tried to talk, they were beaten more and for longer. The police also broke a second mobile phone and took money.
After continuing like this for some time, the police separated the two brothers from the others in the group. Then they ordered the brothers to strip naked and continued to assault them. They also allegedly set fire to newspaper and the station commander himself used it to burn the men’s genitalia.
At about 3am, the police put the men inside the lockup. At about 9:30am the next morning, they returned only some of the money and a broken telephone and released the men. The brothers then went to get medical treatment at the town hospital, and have detailed medical records and photographs that attest to the alleged assault.
At least one of the victims subsequently complained of the alleged assault to the home affairs minister after the incident; however, no action has so far seemingly been taken to investigate or prosecute the police officers involved, despite the medical evidence of assault and detailed depositions of the alleged police violence.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Not long after the above incident occurred, soldiers in Pegu also shot and killed two youths during an argument. The news was widely reported and on September 10 the state-run media announced that the shooting occurred during a “drunken brawl” in which the two victims were among a larger group who assaulted a security officer. The state media accused foreign media and others of misrepresenting the case. At present it is also unclear if any action will be taken against the soldiers involved; however, as impunity for abuses of this sort is systemic in Burma, the prospects of justice for the victims and families are remote.
For other recent appeals on cases of torture and abuse by police in Burma see: UAU-033-2010, UAC-016-2010; UAC-011-2010; and, UAU-018-2009.
All urgent appeals on Burma can be accessed by going to the appeals homepage and typing “Burma” or “Myanmar” into the search box: http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/. For further discussion see articles and special reports on the article 2 website:http://www.article2.org/search.php again search for Burma/Myanmar; and, see the 2009 AHRC annual report on Burma.
The Asian Legal Resource Centre recently released a special report on rule of law and human rights issues in Burma in the lead up to 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).
To browse hundreds of other Burma-related appeals issued by the AHRC, go to the appeals homepage and type “Burma” or “Myanmar” into the search box: http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/.
The AHRC Burmese-language blog is updated constantly for Burmese-language readers, and covers the contents of urgent appeal cases, related news, and special analysis pieces.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the persons listed below to call for an investigation into this alleged incident. Please note that for the purposes of the letter Burma is referred to by its official name, Myanmar; and Pegu as Bago.
Please be informed that the AHRC is writing separate letters to the UN Special Rapporteurs on Myanmar and, torture, and 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: Urination and mobile phone call result in savage police assault
Details of victims:
1. Maung Kyaw Thura, resident of Ywathit Ward, Bago
2. Aung Win Htaik, older brother of Maung Kyaw Thura, residing as above
3. Yan Paing Soe
4. Htet Ko Ko Naing
5. Saw Thawar
6. Aye Chan Soe
Alleged perpetrators:
1. Inspector Kaung Zan, Station Commander, Police Station No. 1, Bago
2. Sub-Inspector Min Soe, Police Station No. 1, Bago
3. Sub-Inspector Kyaw Thura, Police Station No. 1, Bago
4. Trainee Sub-Inspector Pyi Phyoe Maung, Police Station No. 1, Bago
Date and place of incident: Yangon-Mandalay Highway, Bago, 11 August 2010 around 10:30pm
I have been informed of a case of serious police assault in Myanmar in which despite complaint by the victims so far no action has been taken against the alleged perpetrators. I am writing to urge that an investigation and prosecution follow.
According to the information that I have received, around 10:30 on the night of 11 August 2010, Maung Kyaw Thura and his brother were traveling by motorcycle when they saw five persons beating up four others at the front of the divisional courthouse in Bago town. The four, Yan Paing Soe, Htet Ko Ko Naing, Saw Thawar and Aye Chan Soe had come from a bar and were urinating on the roadside when the group of five–four police and another–accosted them.
As none of the police were in uniforms, Maung Kyaw Thura and his brother also stopped to see what was happening. At that time, Aung Win Htaik received a call on his mobile phone. One of the men in the melee, whom the victims later learned was the chief of Police Station No. 1 in Bago, Inspector Kaung Zan, walked over and apparently thinking that Aung Win Htaik was taking a photo of the fight with the mobile, grabbed the phone and threw it into the street. The police then started assaulting the two brothers with fists and sticks. According to the victims, at that time they could distinctly smell alcohol on the breath of all the police.
After the police beat up the six on the roadside, they took the two brothers together with the other four men back to the police station via trishaw. According to the victims, inside the barracks the police said that they would “teach [them] to know [their] place” and forced them to lie prone on the floor. Then the four police beat each of the men around 50 times with metal-buckled belts, kicked them and trampled on them. If the victims made any sound or tried to talk, they were beaten more and for longer. The police also broke a second mobile phone and took money.
Continuing like this for some time, the police separated the two brothers from the others in the group. Then they ordered the brothers to strip naked and continued to assault them. They also allegedly set fire to newspaper and the station commander himself used it to burn the men’s genitalia.
At about 3am, the police put the men inside the lockup. At about 9:30am on August 12 they returned only some of the money and one broken telephone and released the men. The brothers then went to get medical treatment at the town hospital, and have detailed medical records and photographs that attest to the alleged assault.
I am informed that at least one of the victims complained of the alleged assault to the home affairs minister after the incident; however, no action has so far seemingly been taken to investigate or prosecute the police officers involved, despite the medical evidence of assault and detailed depositions of the alleged police violence.
Accordingly, I urge that there be a full special investigation of this incident and that the alleged perpetrators be criminally prosecuted. I also call for the victims to receive compensation for their losses and expenses.
In this respect, I note that at present there are no arrangements to ensure that police are held to account for abuses of this sort in Myanmar and that consequently numerous allegations of wrongdoing and criminal behaviour by members of the police force are not met with any effective action. Until such a time as there is a significant change in institutional arrangements for the policing of society in Myanmar, I am concerned that such incidents will persist and that despite complaints by victims, abusers will continue to go unpunished.
I also take this opportunity to urge the Government of Myanmar to join the UN Convention against Torture, and remind it of the need to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross access to places of detention, in accordance with its globally recognized mandate, without any further delay.
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)
