By Sayar Ngaat / MPA
The Political Prisoners Network – Myanmar (PPNM) has appealed to prison doctors, urging them to resist issuing death certificates for political prisoners under pressure from the ruling junta.
Following the military coup, prison doctors in Myanmar have reportedly been following instructions from the military and its affiliated prison authorities to document death certificates for political prisoners, according to Ko Thike Htun Oo, a member of the Political Prisoners Network – Myanmar (PPNM) steering committee.
“The military junta and prison authorities are increasingly dictating the format of these death certificates,” Ko Thike Htun Oo explained.
“Doctors are meant to save lives, not enable the junta’s narrative. We urge them to act according to their conscience and refuse to comply with demands from prison authorities or the military junta.”
He further highlighted that when political prisoners die from injuries sustained in prison, authorities often falsely report to families that the cause of death was illness, underscoring the crucial role played by prison doctors in shaping these reports.
PPNM revealed that at least 22 political prisoners died in Myanmar’s prisons in 2024 due to inadequate healthcare, a rise compared to 17 deaths recorded in 2023.
A former prisoner from Daik U Prison recounted the dire conditions, “Even when I had malaria in prison, I didn’t receive proper medication. The Junta’s Prisons Department only provided paracetamol, regardless of the illness. They treat human lives as expendable, even when the disease could affect critical organs like the brain.”
The rise in deaths has sparked growing concerns among families of political prisoners. A family member shared, “While sending traditional medicine is relatively easy, sending modern medicine is extremely difficult, and even then, it often doesn’t reach them. The poor medical treatment and lack of proper delivery of medicine leave us deeply worried about their health.”
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), 28,327 individuals have been arrested since the military coup on Feb.1, 2021, with 21,610 currently detained in prisons as of Jan.22, 2025.
