The military junta in Myanmar is constructing two new prisons specifically designed for political prisoners, an indication that there could be more arrests of activists and dissenters.
One of the prisons is near completion in Mawlamyine township of Mon state, while the other will be built in Pathein township of Ayeyarwady region, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA) sources.
An official of the Mon State Revolutionary Organization (MSRO), who requested anonymity, told RFA that the Mawlamyine prison is located in a sparsely populated area with dense forest.
“The junta is building new prisons as a threat to the people… I believe that the junta intentionally chose the remote places that would be good for keeping the news in the dark and covering its tracks,” the source said.
According to the MSRO officials, the prison will likely include revolutionary activists, political prisoners, innocent citizens who have been arbitrarily detained, and people charged under a broad and vague anti-state provision of the country’s Penal Code that penalizes “incitement” and “false news”.
Since the coup on February 1, 2021, the junta has arrested and imprisoned thousands of pro-democracy activists. Political prisoners are held alongside other inmates in facilities operated by the regime’s prison department.
Recently, ten prisoners escaped from Taungoo Prison in Bago region. After incidents of jailbreaks, the military junta has tightened its security and built a new brick wall, a new watch tower, and military bunkers.
The two new prisons will be run by the military, sources close to the prison department said.
On June 23, Aung Kyi Thien, the junta’s Mon state prime minister, said that he recently visited and inspected the new two-story Mawlamyine prison, which had dining halls, staff quarters, and three layers of security.
The plan is to transfer young prisoners from two other facilities to Mawlamyine, revealing the junta’s intention to tighten its grip on political prisoners and eliminate any possibility of leniency, according to an anonymous source close to the prison department.
Since the coup, the junta has released over 70,000 prisoners in 12 announced amnesties. However, only around 2,000 of those released were political prisoners, according to data compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a monitoring group based in Thailand.
