Myingyan Prison
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| Location | Myingyan District, Mandalay Region, Myanmar |
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| Coordinates | 21°28′12.36″N 95°23′40.2″E / 21.4701000°N 95.394500°E |
| Status | Operational |
| Managed by | Ministry of Home Affairs |
Myingyan Prison (Burmese: မြင်းခြံဗဟိုအကျဥ်းထောင်) is a prison in Myingyan district, Myanmar. It was most known as the most infamous detention center among Burma's political prisoners for its atrocities from early 1990s to October 1999 when the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was granted an access to the prison.[1] Before the ICRC visit, several political prisoners died due to starvation and torture.[2]
Since 2021 coup
Currently,[when?] a number of political prisoners including the ex-military intelligence officials are still serving long prison sentences and only three political detainees from the prison were released on April 17, 2011, when the new government granted an amnesty reducing the prison sentences by one year.[3]
On 7 October 2014, a presidential amnesty by Thein Sein, President of Myanmar, that released 3,000 prisoners nationwide resulted in the release of Thein Swe from Myingyan prison. He had almost served 10-years of his 146-year sentence. Thein Swe was the only ex-Military Intelligence personnel released from the prison by the amnesty.[4]
In October 2016, a three-hour protest began at 7 a.m. calling on the removal of the prison warden, the right for prisoners to freely move between prison buildings, end to work on plantations, and that the prison provide them with more than three blankets. In response, a committee was formed to investigate the warden, while the other prisoner demands were denied.[5]
On 21 May 2023, prison superintendent Tin Cho began a "100-day project" to crack down on the use of phones smuggled into the prison by bribed prison officials. This resulted in at least 20 political prisoners requiring medical treatment after being tortured in solitary confinement.[6] From May 21 to 24, 13 political prisoners were taken and tortured at the Light Infantry Battalion 15 base in Myingyan.[7] On May 23, political prisoners began a hunger strike after eight political prisoners were taken for interrogation.[8]
In June 2023, there were around 200 political prisoners held in Myingyan prison,[7] but by August 2023 it increased to 800, mainly young men and women held for anti-junta activities. On 1 August, more than 100 prisoners were released from Myingyan prison as part of an amnesty announced by the junta.[6]
