Irrawaddy-Mar 28
Myanmar rights groups have called on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to probe human rights violations in the country’s jails and the use of sexual violence against political prisoners. Led by the LGBT Alliance Myanmar, 18 rights groups have urged the ICRC to visit prisons where detained LGBTIQ women and men are subjected to violence and sexual harassment. Prison authorities are also committing other forms of human rights violations, especially targeting political prisoners who continue to show their opposition to the military regime while in jail. They have reportedly been placed in solitary confinement and denied visits by relatives. They have also been subjected to beatings by inmates imprisoned for crimes and denied medical treatment. While human rights violations are now widespread in Myanmar since last year’s coup, rights abuses in prisons take place in the shadows, said the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). Anti-regime groups have launched a petition, requesting that the ICRC and other concerned international agencies put pressure on the regime to allow prison visits. Over 200,000 signatures are needed for the online petition. In December, the ICRC announced that the junta had rejected its numerous requests to visit prisons. The ICRC has not been able to visit jails in Myanmar since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country in 2020. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-rights-groups-urge-red-cross-probe-of-junta-violence-against-political-prisoners.html
