At Hpa-An Prison in Hpa-An Township, Karen State, prison authorities placed 12 political prisoners in solitary confinement and subjected them to beatings and torture, resulting in the death of one detainee, according to the Political Prisoners Network - Myanmar (PPNM).

On June 14, authorities at Hpa-An Prison forcibly beat 12 political prisoners, chained their ankles, and placed them in solitary confinement for three months.

On July 13, prison authorities entered the political prisoners’ cells and beat them again, leading to the death of Ko Nyan Min Tun, one of the 12 detainees, according to the PPNM.

“Ko Nyan Min Tun died after prison authorities entered his solitary confinement cell and brutally beat him. They also threatened to kill the other 11 prisoners if word of the incident got out,” said Ma Yaung Ni Lin, spokesperson for the PPNM.

Among the 12 prisoners in solitary confinement, Ko Zaw Win Aung, also known as Ko Jack, was taken out of his cell and beaten by prison authorities every day for about a month, the PPNM added.

At Hpa-An Prison, Aung Ye Naing, a prison officer with national ID number 11/SaTaNa (Nain) 069393, reportedly carved the names of political prisoners he had beaten and tortured onto a wooden rod, which he used during the beatings. The PPNM’s September 8 statement also claimed that concrete evidence shows he also threatened to kill the prisoners.