CONDITIONS IN INSEIN PRISON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000773 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP AND DRL CDR USPACOM FOR FPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/27/2013 TAGS: PHUM PGOV BM SUBJECT: CONDITIONS IN INSEIN PRISON REF: A. (A) RANGOON 377 ¶B. (B) RANGOON 724 Classified By: COM Carmen Martinez. Reason: 1.5 (d). (C) 1. Summary: According to a report from a recently released inmate, conditions in Burma's Insein prison have deteriorated badly following the discovery of a microphone in a room being used by UN Special Rapporteur Pinheiro for interviews with inmates in March (reftel A). The prison warden at Insein was replaced immediately following that incident and the new warden has imposed a new, and far harsher, regime which has rolled back many of the improvements introduced by ICRC since 1999. TVs, newspapers and all writing materials and writing implements have been taken away, and socializing is strictly controlled. Food, sanitation and health conditions remain poor, security has increased and prisoners are now regularly subjected to punishing physical exercises, and beaten. Political prisoners are segregated from the general prison population, but there are indications that some may have been abused, including some who may have been in Aung San Suu Kyi's convoy on May 30. We have passed a copy of the report to ICRC. They have confirmed that the warden at Insein Prison was replaced following the incident with Special Rapporteur Pinheiro. They have also promised to investigate conditions at Insein when they next visit, probably in July. End Summary. ¶2. (C) The following is an edited version of the former inmate's report. The former inmate is not a political prisoner. He was arrested by the police in August 2002 and was locked up in Insein prison until he was released on bail in March 2003. He met with ICRC during ICRC's prison visit in November 2002. After ICRC,s visit, the warden of Insein prison improved the facilities and arranged some entertainment programs for the prisoners. The improved system lasted until March 2003, when the incident occurred with Special Rapporteur Pinheiro (reftel A). The authorities immediately changed the prison warden on the grounds that he had damaged the image of the government. The inmate was rearrested and sent back to the Insein prison in June 2003. He found that the prison had changed totally. Security was much tighter. He and other inmates were searched thoroughly, and the snacks he brought with him were taken away by the prison authorities. He was also ordered to leave all papers, pens, books, and other items at the gate. On their first day, the new inmates were made to sit on the wet ground in the rain, while the new warden laid down the rules for prison operations. In his speech, the warden told them that they were there because they are criminals and that the prison authorities would treat them like criminals. The authorities did not care about ICRC, the warden said. The world community may say the condition of this jail is poor but "we do not care" because this is prison -- a place to keep criminals like them. The warden also warned that if inmates tell anyone about happenings within the prison, they will suffer severe punishment and will spend the rest of their life in the prison, regardless of their current sentences. The inmate said that all inmates are now obliged to fall in and perform &ponsan8 -- punishing physical exercises -- each morning. This practice had been stopped following ICRC's visit November 2002, but was resumed in June. If the inmates could not perform according to order, they were beaten with rough batons. Since June 12, the new warden has also banned all TVs and newspapers from the prison. No prisoner is now allowed to carry a ball pen, a piece of paper or anything that can be used to write. Health and sanitation conditions are also poor. Many inmates who suffer from communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, hepatitis B; etc. remain in the general prison population; they have not been segregated. Toilets are in poor shape and little water is available for bathing. Food is also poor. For lunch, inmates get a bowl of thin bean soup and a plate of rice. For dinner, they get a bowl of &Yay-Baw-Law,8 a kind of prison soup composed of herbs and vegetables found in the prison courtyard, a small portion of &Ngapi8 (fish paste - sometimes with &maggots8) and a plate of rice. The rice was generally full of crushed rice, husks and stones. Socializing has also been restricted. There is no entertainment, all prison visits are monitored, and all packages brought to the prison are screened thoroughly by plain-clothes security personnel. The prison has also now forbidden inmates to sit or talk together in groups of more than four; any inmates found sitting together in larger groups are beaten. Political Prisoners Political prisoners are kept in a special barracks next to the barracks in which the inmate was kept. The whole building is built of concrete and well protected by walls so that nobody can see the political prisoners and their activities. The barracks are divided into cells that can house two or three persons. At present, however, there were 8 to 10 persons in a cell. Altogether, there are an estimated 230 inmates in the barracks for political prisoners. The political prisoners' barracks has a small courtyard and, unlike the other barracks, does have a bathing hall and a walking place where the political prisoners are allowed to walk in the early morning. Occasionally inmates see political prisoners, in hoods to conceal their identities, dragged from the political prisoners barracks to the prison hospital. On the third day of his detention, the inmate himself saw seven hooded prisoners dragged to the hospital by prison officials. When he asked one of the prison guards who the prisoners were, he was told that they were the &problem makers who went along with Suu Kyi.8 He also heard that there is a special &bungalow8 next to the political prisoners' barracks where Aung San Suu Kyi is supposed to be detained, but is not sure that that is true. (Note: However, this information correlates with reftel B, para. 2 regarding the special "bungalow" built for Aung San Suu Kyi within Insein.) The inmate also said that the prison wards are now watched not only by prison guards, but also plain clothes personnel. ¶3. (C) Comment: We will have to wait until ICRC visits Insein before judging whether all the details in this report are accurate. However, it does have the ring of truth. It would make sense for the authorities to tighten security and discipline following the incident with Pinheiro. That would be even more true if NLD members who were picked up following the attack in Depeyin were lodged at Insein. Whatever the reason for the crackdown, however, it does appear that the GOB may have begun to roll back, at least at Insein prison, reforms encouraged by ICRC following its 1999 to 2002 prison visits. If so, it would be one more setback for international efforts to improve human rights in Burma. End Summary. Martinez