Myanmar folk describe brutality in jail

YANGON: Beaten, kicked in the groin and threatened with sexual violence — a young Myanmar teenager detained by the junta’s security forces has described the treatment suffered by some women and girls behind bars.

Ma Chaw, 17, and her mother were arrested on April 14 in Yangon, Myanmar’s commercial capital, which has been blanketed with heavy security since the military seized power in a coup.

As they were walking to a friend’s house from a morning protest, she said, they were stopped by two security trucks. “They forced us to crouch face-down on the ground,” Ma Chaw told AFP.

The high school student then faced six days of fear and anxiety, held with women who alleged torture and abuse by police behind closed doors. Ma Chaw said she herself had to endure a police officer molesting her during an interrogation session.

The teenager was released on April 20, but her mother was not as fortunate — she was instead taken to Yangon’s Insein prison. “My mother is my only family,” she said. “I’m very worried for her safety and life.”

To secure her release, she said, she had to sign documents saying she suffered “no torture” behind bars. “It’s the opposite of what they have done,” Ma Chaw said. “It is totally unacceptable and unfair.”

Her mother is among more than 3,800 civilians arrested and still languishing behind bars since the February 1 coup, according to local monitoring group the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Little is known about the conditions of detainees across Myanmar, as those released rarely speak out about it.

Ma Chaw said she and her mother were taken first to a local police station where they were questioned separately.