Myanmar Insein: A rare glimpse inside a barbaric prison

Phyo Wai Hlaing, a 21-year-old wi-fi technician, had been missing for a week successful July 2021 erstwhile his begetter received an anonymous telephone telephone telling him to spell to a span acold from his neighbourhood successful Myanmar's largest city, Yangon.

There the thoroughfare nutrient vendor was told that his lad had been arrested. A fewer days aboriginal helium work astir it successful the state-run newspaper.

Also successful that radical was Si Thu Aung, a 19-year-old, first-year engineering student. Witnesses told his parent they saw him being taken distant by constabulary the time aft Phyo Wai Hlaing went missing.

Both young men had disappeared into Myanmar's gulag, a web of prisons and interrogation centres utilized for decades to detain and torture dissidents.

At its bosom is Insein prison, a sanction that has travel to symbolise the repression imposed by successive subject regimes. That is wherever Phyo Wai Hlain and Si Thu Aung archetypal went aft being sentenced to 7 years successful prison.

The BBC has been speaking to immoderate of the detainees' families, and to Maung Pho, an artist, who utilized his six-month incarceration to marque elaborate drawings of beingness wrong Insein, which helium has present been showing astatine exhibitions successful Thailand.

Stamped into the representation of bluish Yangon similar a elephantine wheel, Insein situation is 1 of the much sinister legacies of British assemblage regularisation successful Myanmar. It was built successful 1877 successful the signifier of a panopticon, giving a cardinal guardhouse a wide presumption to each corners of the "wheel". It is Myanmar's largest prison. Most governmental prisoners service astatine slightest portion of their sentences there, usually the galore months successful detention earlier their trials. Some bash not past the experience.

"I was hoping to trust connected him erstwhile helium graduated from university," says Si Thu Aung's mother. "My neighbour tried to comfortableness me, and I realised that determination was present no-one other to assistance my family, since my hubby is sick and bed-ridden. So, I told myself I inactive person to look aft my younger lad and husband, and enactment my lad successful prison."

From that constituent some families' lives would beryllium consumed by the situation of supporting their sons wrong 1 of the world's astir barbaric situation systems.

Three weeks aft his arrest, Si Thu Aung's parent got a telephone telephone from Insein telling her to nonstop nutrient and wealth for him. Without specified enactment the conditions and nutrient wrong are truthful mediocre the wellness of prisoners tin deteriorate badly. She says she has been spending 140,000 kyats ($9) a period to nonstop him nutrient parcels, which is astir two-thirds of what she earns from selling steamed soya beans connected the street.

Phyo Wai Hlaing's 2 trials lasted 3 months. His begetter lone got to spot him twice, astir a period earlier the verdict, and perceive for the archetypal clip what his lad had been through. He had been extensively tortured successful 5 antithetic interrogation centres, including Ye Kyi Ai, a notoriously brutal 1 adjacent Yangon planetary airport.

"They took him to a morgue and showed him each the decomposing bodies there, telling him 'your beingness is present worthless. We tin termination you for little than the outgo of a container of charcoal'. He had a gunshot coiled successful his limb due to the fact that helium had been changeable erstwhile helium was arrested. They had rolled robust rods connected his shins, helium had a ample swelling connected the backmost of his head, a dislocated limb and a dislodged disc successful his spine. His representation was nary longer bully - adjacent present helium inactive cannot retrieve people's names."

His begetter has already sold each the family's jewellery to enactment his lad successful prison. They person 1 portion of land, successful his mother's village, which they volition besides person to sell. After that they volition person to negociate connected what helium earns selling mohinga, the food crockery typically eaten for meal successful Myanmar.

Lawyers for the 2 young men accidental they complaint arsenic small arsenic possible, usually conscionable the outgo of their transport to court, to assistance the families. But blameworthy verdicts are inevitable; they accidental they person nary accidental of getting their clients acquitted. We are much similar societal workers oregon counsellors, 1 lawyer said - "all we tin bash is supply immoderate comfortableness to our clients, who are seldom allowed to spot their families".

Myo Myint, different thoroughfare vendor, was capable to spot for himself the conditions his lad Lin Lin Htet experienced successful Insein; helium was arrested with him, successful October 2021, and released 10 months later.

"Our compartment had 100 radical successful it, successful a abstraction lone 5x6m (16x19 feet). We each person to slumber connected our sides and look the aforesaid way. Those who tin spend to wage 100,000 to 150,000 kyats a period tin get a amended spot to sleep." He says helium saved his wealth to wage the guards for amended attraction for his son.

Lin Lin Htet was interrogated for 5 to six days. "He was beaten beauteous badly," says Myo Myint, who shared his compartment for their archetypal weeks successful prison.

"When helium came retired of the interrogation centre helium could not locomotion oregon stand, 2 radical had to resistance him to the cell. I saw galore wounds connected his body. Burns connected his chin and legs. Two toenails had been pulled out. His full assemblage was successful pain. All I could bash was use immoderate pain-killer pick I had. My lad said they grabbed his hairsbreadth and smashed his caput against the partition oregon table. He can't perceive decently immoderate more."

Artist Maung Pho was much fortunate. When helium was dragged from his location successful Yangon by soldiers connected the nighttime of 7 April 2021 helium assumed it was due to the fact that of a graffiti illustration helium had made showing the coup person Min Aung Hlaing committing termination portion lasting adjacent to Chinese person Xi Jinping.

"They kicked my caput and told maine to effort running, truthful they could sprout me," helium said. "'We are nary longer nether the regularisation of high-heels' [ousted person Aung San Suu Kyi], they shouted, 'this is present the regularisation of subject boots'. I thought it would beryllium my past moment."

But astatine the constabulary presumption helium realised it was little serious. He had been detained aft a ailment by his section neighbourhood head implicit thing helium had said.

The cramped conditions helium witnessed successful Insein made Maung Pho privation to grounds them with his pen: "The country we slept successful could fit, astatine most, 150 people, but determination were 474 sleeping there. Can you ideate it? People had to prevarication down similar tinned fish."

His accomplishment arsenic a draughtsman won him a fewer privileges, similar being fixed caller effect foodstuff by 1 of the guards whose representation helium drew. But astir of the clip helium had to fell his pens and illustrations, which helium drew connected scraps of insubstantial that came successful the nutrient parcels families sent to the inmates. These helium chopped up and smuggled retired by concealing them wrong the walls of the cardboard boxes successful which inmates leaving the situation carried their possessions.

Maung Pho was released aft six months, and made his way, similar truthful galore different Burmese dissidents, to information successful Thailand.

The families of Lin Lin Htet, Phyo Wai Hlaing and Si Thu Aung present unrecorded successful the anticipation of an amnesty for their sons, oregon for their sentences to beryllium reduced. Lin Lin Htet has already had his seven-year condemnation chopped by six months.

"My beingness has truly suffered since helium was arrested," says Si Thu Aung's mother. "He utilized to assistance maine retired a lot. He likes reading, and got apical grades successful his assemblage entranceway exam. I privation him to beryllium well-educated. I don't privation him to extremity up similar me, with a beingness that is pugnacious and poor."

Phyo Wai Hlaing's younger brother, who is 8 years old, goes to situation arsenic often arsenic helium tin to spot him.

The 2 brothers stock the aforesaid birthday, and are close, says their father. They besides nonstop him 2 nutrient parcels a month, which helium usually shares with his cellmates.

Phyo Wai Lang has asked them to prevention their wealth and conscionable nonstop him 1 parcel. He has told them helium is committed to continuing with his governmental work, opposing the subject government. But helium has advised his younger member to enactment distant from politics, telling him "Once you start, it is not casual to get out."

Additional probe and reporting by Lulu Luo successful Bangkok