Reuters
Smuggled sketches offer a glimpse into Myanmar’s harsh prison
Fourteen sketches smuggled from Myanmar’s Insein prison and interviews with eight former inmates provide a rare glimpse into the country’s most notorious prison, where thousands of political prisoners have been sent since last year’s military coup and the communication with the outside world is very limited. Beyond these images, the eight recently released inmates told Reuters that the colonial-era facility in Yangon is infested with rats, a place where bribes are common, inmates pay for sleeping space on the floor and widespread diseases go untreated. “We are no longer people behind bars,” said Nyi Nyi Htwe, 24, who smuggled the sketches out of prison when he was released in October after serving several months on a defamation conviction, on charges he denies. in connection with taking part in protests against the coup.
