THARRAWADDY, Myanmar — Prisoners in Myanmar’s Tharrawaddy jail are being systematically extorted by authorities to fund renovation costs whenever high-ranking officials or international monitors are scheduled to visit, according to former inmates and human rights activists.
The practice, described by victims as a “systematic bribery scheme,” involves forcing detainees to pay for building maintenance, such as painting and cleaning, which should officially be covered by the state budget.
A recently released political prisoner told MPA that the extortion intensifies whenever the Director-General of the Prisons Department or international organizations like the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the National Human Rights Commission plan an inspection.
“The government has specific budgets for prison maintenance, but authorities pocket the money for personal gain,” the former inmate said. “Instead, they dump the financial burden on the prisoners. We even have to pool our money to replace broken locks on our cells because the prison department refuses to provide them.”
According to the accounts, prisoners are forced to pay for whitewashing walls and purchasing oil and water-based paints. Those who cannot afford to pay or refuse to comply face severe repercussions, including physical abuse, being sent to solitary confinement, or being reassigned to “punishment wards” where they are forced to perform grueling hard labor.
Political analysts suggest that these official visits have been perverted into a “business opportunity” for prison officials.
“When external organizations visit, they see clean wards and tidy prisoners—it’s all a carefully curated performance,” a local human rights activist noted. “Behind that image are the tears and hard-earned savings of the prisoners’ families. It is a blatant and disgusting violation of human rights.”
The pressure often extends to families outside the prison walls. Fearing further torture for their loved ones, families often sacrifice their meager savings to meet the demands of the guards.
Activists are now calling on the ICRC and other monitoring bodies to look beyond the “show routes” prepared by jail authorities. They argue that as long as international organizations rely on pre-arranged tours, the systemic corruption and abuse within the Myanmar penal system will remain hidden.
“Inspectors need to find ways to understand the actual reality on the ground, not just the facade,” a political analyst told MPA. “Prisoners are human beings with rights that must be protected. The international community needs to recognize that these jails are being run as extortion machines rather than correctional facilities.”
The Myanmar prison system has faced increasing scrutiny since the 2021 coup, with reports of torture, overcrowding, and widespread corruption becoming frequent. As the country remains gripped by civil unrest, the plight of those behind bars continues to highlight the breakdown of the rule of law under the current military-led administration.
