By Ko Myo / MPA
MONYWA, Myanmar — Prison authorities in Sagaing Region’s Monywa Prison cocked loaded service weapons and threatened to shoot inmates dead after nearly the entire prison population observed a peaceful Martyr’s Day memorial service, political prisoner networks confirmed on Thursday evening.
The incident unfolded on 19 July 2026, during the 79th anniversary of Martyr’s Day. Inmates across various cell blocks observed a solemn minute of silence in memory of General Aung San and fallen independence heroes.
In response, prison guards stationed at the central watchtowers and security perimeters chambered live rounds, pointed their firearms directly at the inmates, and verbally threatened to execute them on the spot, according to an emergency report published late Thursday, 23 July, by the Spring Revolution Political Prisoners Association (SRPPA).
Immediately following the minute of silence, prison officials forcibly removed the political detainees who had organized the peaceful commemoration.
“According to the latest intelligence received, inmates observed the memorial service and the key organizers were dragged away by prison officials,” Ko Bhone Myint Aung, a committee member of the SRPPA, told MPA. “We have no further details on their current condition, as all communications with the inside have been completely severed.”
Monywa Prison currently holds approximately 900 inmates, including 544 political prisoners detained for resisting the military council, according to SRPPA records.
Human rights watchdogs have repeatedly raised alarms over the severe rights abuses and extrajudicial violence facing political detainees inside Myanmar’s prison grid, warning that peaceful acts of resistance are routinely met with torture, isolation, and fatal violence.
