Overcrowding at Sittwe Prison raises concerns

By Admin 08 Aug 2024

DMG Newsroom
8 August 2024, Sittwe

Sittwe Prison is overcrowded, with some inmates needing to be packed into old buildings that were only recently repaired to accommodate newcomers, sources close to the prison told DMG.

Though large cells are supposed to hold fewer than 50 prisoners each, more than 60 have been packed into one cell, sources said.

“Nearly 300 people have been arrested in Sittwe Town alone since the renewed fighting [began in November]. There have also been important prisoners transferred from Buthidaung and Thandwe. This has forced prison authorities to repair old buildings that have not been used for a long time,” said a source.

Though the prison only has capacity to hold 1,000 prisoners, there are currently more than 1,200 inmates being kept in Sittwe Prison, according to sources.

Family members of detainees are concerned that inmate transfers might be made to other prisons due to the overcrowding in Sittwe Prison.

One family member of a prisoner convicted and jailed under political charges in Sittwe said: “If they are sent to prisons outside Arakan State, we will have difficulties delivering food and necessities for them. We are concerned that we will lose contact with them.”

The regime has also been accused of arresting residents to extort money from their families in Sittwe. Police stations in Sittwe are reportedly overcrowded with detainees as well.

A resident of Setyoekya Ward said: “The regime has arrested hundreds of residents from Byaing Phyu Village as well as Mingan and Amyint Kyun villages. The regime keeps arresting civilians in Sittwe.”

According to the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA), the regime arbitrarily detained 425 people in the six months from November 13 — when fighting between the AA and Myanmar’s military regime began anew — to May 13.