BURMA: Court issues landmark ruling on death in police custody

Description: 

"In a landmark ruling, a court in Burma has rejected the police version of events that led to the death of a man in their custody, and has opened the door to a charge of murder to be brought against the officers involved. In its findings of 9 November 2012, a copy of which the Asian Human Rights Commission has obtained, the Mayangone Township Court ruled in the case of the deceased Myo Myint Swe that the death was unlikely to have been natural. Despite attempts by the police of the Bayinnaung Police Station to cover up the torture and murder of Myo Myint Swe, whom they had arrested over the death of a young woman, Judge Daw Aye Mya Theingi found that even though the investigating doctor had been equivocal about whether or not extensive external injuries caused by torture had resulted in the death, on the basis of the testimonies, written records and photographs submitted to the court, it was "difficult to conclude that the death was natural"..."

Source/publisher: 

Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Date of Publication: 

2012-12-05

Date of entry: 

2012-12-05

Grouping: 

  • Individual Documents

Category: 

Language: 

English

Format: 

Size: