A riot broke out at a prison in Myanmar, killing one prisoner and injuring over 60 others, the junta said on Saturday (January 7). Issuing a statement, the junta said the riot at the prison in Pathein started after guards confiscated a mobile phone from a prisoner on Thursday night and took disciplinary action. Around 70 prisoners escaped from the cells and damaged property on Friday morning, news agency AFP reported.
The junta said in the statement that prisoners used sticks, bricks and pieces of cement to attack the security personnel. One prisoner was killed amid the fight and 63 other prisoners were injured. The statement added that two police officials and nine prison guards were also wounded.
Initially, authorities tried to bring the situation under control but negotiations failed and they resorted to force. “The authorities fired guns to break up the crowd and bring the riot under control,” the junta further said on Saturday.
The deceased inmate was a political prisoner, according to local media while a report by BBC Burmese on Saturday said the inmate, identified as Ko Wai Yan Phyo, was jailed on terrorism charges. The report pointed out that there was another casualty in the riot but there is no official confirmation yet.
This prison riot in Myanmar comes days after the junta announced it would free more than 7,000 prisoners.
Over 7,000 prisoners granted amnesty by junta
As many as 7,012 prisoners were granted amnesty by the junta to mark Myanmar’s 75th Independence Day. “Altogether 7,012 prisoners will be pardoned to mark the 75th anniversary of Independence Day,” junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun told AFP on Wednesday. However, it was not specified whether the amnesty would include those jailed as part of a crackdown on dissent.
On Friday, the United Nations said that among these 7,012 prisoners, about 300 were political prisoners. “It’s about 300 who were political prisoners,” UN spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said during a press conference. Laurence said nearly 17,000 people had been arrested in Myanmar since the military coup in February 2021 and more than 13,000 remained in detention.
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