Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been closely following the case of a young man whom the authorities in Burma have accused of involvement in a bombing during April. Phyo Wai Aung has alleged that he was brutally tortured for nine days to force him to confess. According to the latest information, his family has been denied visiting rights and has heard that he has been held inside the dog kennels at the prison.
CASE NARRATIVE:
In previous appeals and statements the AHRC already expressed concerns over the case of Phyo Wai Aung, 31, who was arrested on 22 April 2010, a week after the explosions at the annual water festival, and whom the police chief in a press conference declared a terrorist. Full details of the case are available on the campaign website: FREE PHYO WAI AUNG
Following earlier interventions concerning the keeping of Phyo Wai Aung in solitary confinement and other alleged custodial abuses, we are pleased to inform that he was by January allowed out of solitary and able to stay with other detainees. However, according to relatives of the accused, on February 7 when they came to visit him, they were told that they could not see him and that visiting rights to him have been suspended for a month. When they asked why, they were told because of disciplinary breaches. When they asked what disciplinary breaches, the staff did not or could not tell them.
After that, for the remainder of the day and the next few days they tried to speak with the prison warden to find out what Phyo Wai Aung was alleged to have done wrong and why they could not see him for a month; however, they were not successful as the warden was purportedly never in his office or otherwise available to meet them. Furthermore, when his wife went with the lawyer to attend a hearing in the trial on February 10, she also was then refused access, without explanation.
In addition to the above, the family has been informed that Phyo Wai Aung has been returned to solitary confinement and is being kept in the dog kennels, which are used as a form of inhuman punishment in the prison where, according to others who have been kept in them, apart from the appalling conditions it is practically impossible for a detainee to get to sleep due to the constant barking of the dogs.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Meanwhile, three applications that the family made to the Supreme Court were rejected in January. In the applications, the family asked for the judge to authorize them to be able to attend the hearings and not be obstructed by prison staff; for the defence lawyer to get all the documents that the prosecution has submitted to the court; and, for the trial judge to be changed because of language used by the current judge indicating that the defendant would not get a fair trial. However, a judge in the Supreme Court rejected all three applications, and now the lawyer for the defendant has lodged applications for special leave to appeal, which is the final avenue available. (See also: AHRC-STM-034-2011)
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the persons listed below to call for the humane treatment of Phyo Wai Aung, and for his family to be allowed full access to him while he is in prison. Please note that for the purpose of the letter, the country should be referred to by its official title of Myanmar, rather than Burma, and Rangoon, Yangon.
Please be informed that the AHRC is sending letters on this case to the UN Special Rapporteurs on Myanmar and on torture; the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the regional human rights office for Southeast Asia, calling for strong interventions.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ___________,
MYANMAR: Detainee allegedly held in dog kennels, denied visits by family
Details of accused: Ko Phyo Wai Aung, a.k.a. Mohammad Sharvan, 31, electrical engineer/ contractor, resident of Ward 2, Pazundaung Township, Yangon, Myanmar
Date of arrest: 22 April 2010
Place of detention and trial: Insein Central Prison, Yangon
I am writing to express my grave concern over reports that a young man being held and tried in the central prison of Myanmar has been denied family visits and is being held in solitary confinement in the prison dog kennels for an unspecified disciplinary offence.
According to the information that I have received, the family of Phyo Wai Aung, who is being tried inside the prison over alleged involvement in a bombing last April 2010, was told when they came to visit him on 7 February 2011 that his visiting rights had been suspended for one month. When they asked why, they were told because of disciplinary breaches. When they asked what disciplinary breaches, the staff did not or could not tell them.
After that, for the remainder of the day and the next few days the family tried to speak with the prison warden to find out what Phyo Wai Aung was alleged to have done wrong and why they could not see him for a month; however, they were not successful as the warden was purportedly never in his office or otherwise available to meet them. Furthermore, when his wife went with the lawyer to attend a hearing in the trial on February 10, she also was then refused access, without explanation.
In addition to the above, the family has been informed that Phyo Wai Aung has been returned to solitary confinement and is being kept in the dog kennels, which are used as a form of inhuman punishment in the prison where, according to others who have been kept in them, apart from the appalling conditions it is practically impossible for a detainee to get to sleep due to the constant barking of the dogs.
It is bad enough that the relatives of a detainee in Myanmar would be denied access to prison, since it is well known that detainees there depend upon the food and medicine supplies brought to them by loved ones and well-wishers to survive the harsh conditions inside the country’s jails. However, I am shocked that in addition detainees are reportedly being held in dog kennels, a form of punishment that clearly amounts to cruel and inhuman treatment under international law, not only because of the physical and emotional toll it would have on a detainee but also because of the possible long-term psychological consequences.
I am aware that following earlier interventions concerning the keeping of Phyo Wai Aung in solitary confinement he was allowed out and was able to join other detainees in the main part of the central prison. I urge that steps be taken immediately to restore this status to him and to allow his family to visit.
I am also informed that three applications to the Supreme Court for the judge in the case of Phyo Wai Aung to authorize them to be able to attend the hearings inside the prison and not be obstructed by prison staff; for the defence lawyer to get all the documents that the prosecution has submitted to the court; and, for the trial judge to be changed were all rejected in January. The next hearing will be on February 24.
I urge that the applications for special leave of appeal in these cases be seriously considered and that the Supreme Court allow them to proceed, since they relate to matters of profound importance not only to this case but also to the rights of all accused persons in Myanmar, and particularly those whose trials are being heard inside prisons.
Lastly, I take this opportunity to remind the Government of Myanmar of the need to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross access to places of detention as a matter of the utmost urgency. I can see no reason as to why the government has failed to agree to the ICRC mission in accordance with the terms of its international mandate and has for the last few years refused it access. The persistent refusal to allow the ICRC access to detainees like Phyo Wai Aung is one of the reasons that Myanmar’s international reputation remains among the worst in the world, and it will continue to be that way until the Government of Myanmar changes its position on this matter.
Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. U Hla Min
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
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) (ua@ahrc.asia)
