Myanmar’s
notorious Insein Prison serves as a symbol of the country’s political
prisoners, hundreds of whom remain held even after Myanmar transitioned
from junta rule in 2015. Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s current leader, was
herself a political prisoner held at Insein on three instances in 2003,
2007, and 2009.
With a rounded panopticon design, the prison
instills a sense of constant surveillance with former inmates describing
regular mistreatment, lack of sanitation, and extremely harsh solitary
confinement. Famously, the prison had two hunger strikes in 1991 and
2011, and in 2008 a protest by prisoners was met by live fire bullets
from guards, who killed 36 inmates.
Today, even as the country
recently held multi-party elections, Insein Prison still operates and
holds political prisoners. One former prisoner, speaking on conditions
when he was detained, said “I was beaten by hand, with a stick. They
beat you a lot. But it didn’t matter if you told them the truth. They
heard what they wanted to hear, and if they didn’t like what you told
them, they just carried on beating you.”
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