Some forms of brutal tortures and abuses are practiced in Buthidaung Prison where Rohingya Muslims are detained

QS Madani 

RB News 

February 10, 2013

(Translated into English by Aye Aye Mar) 

After the violent crisis of Arakan State led by extremist Rakhine Buddhists in June, 2012, the innocent Rohingya Muslims young and old have been arrested and detained with wrong accusations. Among them, three Muslims who could afford to pay for their release of 15 Million Kyats (Myanmar Currency) have been released after some days of detainment. 

Voluntarily for the current detainees, those who are set free provided details to RB News regarding their experiences of brutal tortures and abuses which are practiced in Buthidaung Prison, Rakhine State, Myanmar. 

The report states from June, 2012 until present the Rohingya Muslim detainees of Buthidaung Prison have been tortured in some forms of life threatening, beating to death, and cruel methods of tortures and abuses by the Myanmar local security forces and the prison authorities. 

A large number of Rohingya Muslims who were not involved in the violent crisis of Rakhine State, June, 2012, have been arrested based on wrong accusations and detained and tortured in the following manners. 

1. The detainees are tightly tied up by ropes and forced to stay naked. 
2. In the process of bringing the detainees to the prison, their heads were pushed down and pressed down under the feet of the torturers. 
3. The prisoners are forced to stay naked for a long period and in need of bath, they are forced to go naked and prisoner guards bring them back in the same manners in group. 
4. In the process of walking, or keeping the prisoners in the prison, their genitals are beaten or touched by fellow prisoners and tied by ropes until their organs become swollen. 
5. The prisoner guards push down the heads of the prisoners and sit on their backs and hit their heads with hammers. In some forms of tortures, Rakhine prisoners are brought to hit the limbs of the detainees with sticks, hammers and chains. 
6. The limbs, ears and noses of the prisoners are cut off and beat up the victims until severe bruises appear on their heads. 
7. The blows are carried out against especially the main body parts including the abdomens, chest s, hearts and brains until the internal injuries occur. 
8. The prisoner staff and the Rakhine prisoners prick the strands of beard and moustache of the prisoners in pain and make them prick the hair of their body parts. 
9. The limbs of the victims are burnt with burning charcoals; the genitals are heated with electric shocks and poured with hot water. 
10. The prisoners are made starved over a long period of time; not allowed to take a bath but when allowed, only with inadequate amount of water and the victims have access to a very inadequate amount of drinking water with limited time. 
11. In the prison, the prisoners are prevented from sleeping. A measure used to achieve includes being beaten up almost to death which leads to breakdown of nervous system and to other serious physical and psychological damage. 
12. The prisoners are not allowed to pray or to observe the Sabbath. 
13. The heavy ploughs are placed on the necks and the shoulders of the prisoners and made them walk in this manner. 
14. The prisoners are forced to crawl and the prison authorities take rides on their backs for fun. 
15. The prisoners are forced to walk on the nail-spiked pranks and burning charcoals. 
16. The prisoners are forced to lie and heavy weights are placed on their chests. 
17. Scissors, needles, knives and nails are used to peel off the skin of the victims without mercy. In some cases, tongues and eyes are painfully pierced. 
18. As the results of brutally being beaten up, the prisoners make urine and increment. In that case, the victim is made to eat his increment by beating forced. 
19. Red ants are placed on the bodies of the prisoners and made to bite the victims. 
20. Rice and curries are placed on the bodies of the prisoners and astrayed dogs are brought to eat the foods and make them bite the detainees. 
21. In the process of bringing the detainees to the court, the young or the old are tightly tied up and often beaten up at the court. 
22. The prison guards use the curse words to call the prisoners “animals”, “Kular cows” etc. and give the gestures to them as to the animals. 
23. Inside or outside the prison, the prisoners being tied up tightly around the necks, waists and limbs, the parts of their bodies are brutally hit. 
24. The prisoners are denied to receive the medical access when they are ill. 
25. The prisoners are prohibited from meeting their relatives and accepting medicines, foods, cash and clothes. 
26. The prisoners are raped by force and made to swallow the sperm into their mouths. 
27. The same manners of tortures and abuses are applied to the disabled, those whose hands and legs are broken, the deaf, the young and the old prisoners.
28. The prison torturers insult the religion, ”Islam” by stating,”You said, Your God is Great. Now, call your God to save you.” 
29. In addition to these cruel methods of tortures, many lives have been lost by some forms of abuses. The corpses of those who were tortured to death are not handed over to the families. No information is provided on this matter and it is not allowed to bury the dead prisoners in Islamic ways. 

Innocent Rohingya Muslims are arrested without evidences and with the false witness of Rakhines, there have been unlimited numbers of prisoners who are sentenced for long term imprisonment.There are a very few people who are set free by paying a large sum of money. 

The majority of the prisoners lack of money to pay for their escape from prison and have been suffering in the aforementioned brutal methods of tortures and abuses.There have been many people who have escaped into the foreign countries for the fear of the arrests and brutal tortures in the prison of Buthidaung, Rakhine State, Myanmar.