Junta allows resumption of prison visits after three-year ban

By Admin 25 Oct 2023

DMG Newsroom
25 October 2023, Sittwe
 
Since October 24, the military regime has once again begun allowing prison visits by family members of prisoners, which had been banned since 2020 due to restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
Visitors must bring their original citizenship ID, original household registration certificate, certificate of residence issued by the relevant ward administrator, certificate of clearance issued by police, and a COVID-19 vaccination certificate, according to the regulations recently issued for visitors.
 
The regulations issued for prison visitors state that prison visits will be allowed once a month at 25 minutes per visit.
 
Ma Oo Ma Nyunt, the wife of Ko Myat Thu Tun, said she went on October 24 to meet her husband, who was sentenced to prison on political charges, but she was not allowed to meet him.
 
“My husband is a resident from Mrauk-U,” she told DMG. “If I want to meet him, I must bring my original citizenship ID, original household registration certificate, certificate of residence issued by the relevant ward administrator, certificate of clearance issued by police, and a COVID-19 vaccination certificate. I have difficulties meeting him.”
 
Families of inmates have been worried about the health and food conditions for prisoners as they have been barred from visiting their loved ones behind bars for about three years.
 
Daw Ma Nan Soe said she would attempt to visit her younger brother, who is imprisoned at Sittwe Prison, within the next week.

The young writer Min Di Par, also known as Ko Aung Myint Naing, from Panmaw Village in Mrauk-U Township, was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison under the Counter-Terrorism Law for allegedly funding the anti-regime People’s Defence Force.
 
“My younger brother [Min Di Par] has been imprisoned for about three years, but I have never been allowed to meet with him. I am glad to have the opportunity to meet him,” Ma Nan Soe added.
 
U Khaing Kaung San, a former political prisoner, said that if the outright ban on prison visits is being eased, the rights of prisoners should also be expanded.
 
The Prison Manual stipulates that every inmate has the right to receive appropriate healthcare while incarcerated and is entitled to a prison visit once a week.
 
“The prison officials are violating the human rights standards and not complying with the law,” said a human rights activist in Arakan State.