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Detainees who\u2019ve endured torture and other forms of abuse at the hands of Myanmar\u2019s junta security forces say they suffer from severe depression and mental illness long after their release and live in constant fear of rearrest.<\/P>
Thousands of people have been arrested since the military seized power in a Feb. 1 coup. Detainees who have been released told RFA\u2019s Myanmar Service that the experience left them severely traumatized.<\/P>
The former detainees, who are mostly young and were taken into custody after joining anti-junta protests, say they are haunted by their experiences in captivity and are no longer able to enjoy a normal life despite having been allowed to return home.<\/P>
Ko Thaw, a 20-year-old man from Myanmar\u2019s largest city Yangon, told RFA that he had been arrested on March 3 for joining a protest and released three weeks later. On March 24, the same day that he was set free, authorities came to his home in the capital Naypyidaw and rearrested him, accusing him of \u201cdefamation\u201d against the military.<\/P>
Later released as part of a general amnesty on Oct. 18, Ko Thaw said that he was beaten severely while he was being interrogated about his alleged crimes.<\/P>
\u201cThey tore my shirt off \u2026 and then hit me on the chest and arms with batons. When I covered my face, about 15 of them beat me all over my body, kicking me in the neck and back,\u201d he said.<\/P>
\u201cThey hadn\u2019t even questioned me about anything yet. They just beat me up.\u201d<\/P>
\u201cLater, while in prison, I saw some men with deep cuts to their necks who had been there for about a month but for some reason were never given any medicine,\u201d he said. \u201cI did not suffer as much as they did, but it upset me terribly.\u201d<\/P>
Ko Thaw said he is restless and always afraid.<\/P>
\u201cI can\u2019t eat or sleep well because I am constantly wondering, \u2018when will they come back for me,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/P>
\u201cSometimes, when I want to do something as simple as go out shopping, my thoughts haunt me, and I question whether I will be safe.\u201d<\/P>
Yin Yin, 24-year-old pro-democracy activist from Yangon, was also arrested on March 3 for participating in a protest and detained in Insein Prison on defamation charges before being released as part of the Oct. 18 amnesty.<\/P>
She told RFA she lives in \u201cconstant fear\u201d that she will be arrested again.<\/P>
\u201cSince my release from prison, I feel so insecure. \u2018If I go somewhere, who might be following me? Will it be safe to go there,\u2019 I often ask myself,\u201d she said.<\/P>
\u201cAs there have been several cases of rearrests, I worry all the time that they will come after me. \u2026 Even though I\u2019m at home now, I don\u2019t feel like it at all. When I wake up in the mornings, it takes some time before I realize that I\u2019m in my own bed. I still have nightmares as if I am still in prison.\u201d<\/P>
Ko Thaw and Yin Yin told RFA that after more than eight months in prison they are both dealing with debilitating anxiety but have no one to turn to for help.<\/P>
Mental and physical torture<\/P>
Nang Lin, a member of Takatha Students Union, said that detainees experience various forms of abuse during interrogation that continues to traumatize them after being released.<\/P>
\u201cThey are mentally tortured by their captors, who interrogate them about things that have nothing to do with the charges against them. It is inhuman,\u201d he said.<\/P>
\u201cWomen are often sexually harassed. Men are asked personal questions about their sex lives. These kinds of questions are meant to damage their psyche.\u201d<\/P>
Other detainees will bear the marks of physical torture long after they are freed.<\/P>
Last month, prominent Myanmar political activist Kyaw Min Yu, better known by his alias Ko Jimmy, was left in critical condition after suffering a head injury while being arrested in Yangon. After three days of intensive care at a military hospital, he was transferred to an undisclosed location, according to Myanmar Now.<\/P>
At the time, his wife Nilar Thein told RFA that she was \u201cexpecting the worst-case scenario\u201d because he was in the custody of junta soldiers.<\/P>
\u201cWe have seen in the past that many people who were arrested either died or were left with serious lifelong trauma because they were severely tortured,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have prepared ourselves for everything, mentally as well.\u201d<\/P>
Kyaw Min Yu is the former leader of the so-called 88-generation group of students, which led the August 1988 uprising against the previous military regime that had run Myanmar since 1962. He was accused by the current regime of defamation in February. He now faces six new charges, including high treason and terrorism, for allegedly planning attacks on junta targets.<\/P>
Dr. Tin Oo, a psychiatrist, told RFA that people who endure abuse in custody should seek out professional care to help them deal with the anguish they often must deal with long after being released.<\/P>
\u201cPeople with these kinds of experiences can suffer extreme mental trauma and if this happens, they should see a counseling expert when they are freed from prison,\u201d he said.<\/P>
\u201cOnly you know what you are dealing with, so go see an expert when you are haunted by these experiences.\u201d<\/P>
Nine months after the Feb. 1 coup, security forces have killed 1,253 civilians and arrested at least 7,144, according to the Bangkok-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Many of the deaths and arrests have occurred during crackdowns on anti-junta protests.<\/P>
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Copyright \u00a9 1998-2016, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036Radio Free Europe–Copyright (c) 2015. RFE\/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036. <\/P>
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Detainees who\u2019ve endured torture and other forms of abuse at the hands of Myanmar\u2019s junta security forces say they suffer from severe depression and mental illness long after their release and live in constant fear of rearrest.Thousands of people have …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n