"Amnesty International has recently received new information about appalling conditions in labour camps and prisons in Myanmar. Unofficial sources have provided details about the treatment of prisoners, including torture, prolonged shackling, lack of proper medical care, and insufficient food. Torture techniques include beatings, sometimes to the point of unconsciousness; being forced to crawl over sharp stones; and being held in the hot sun for prolonged periods. Such practices are used by Myanmar?s security forces to punish and intimidate prisoners. Conditions in labour camps are so harsh that hundreds of prisoners have died as a result. Many prisoners who have been forced to work as porters for the army have also died as a result of ill-treatment. In the material which follows, Amnesty International has omitted details which could identify imprisoned individuals, for fear of placing them at even greater risk of torture and illtreatment. Most of the information below concerns Insein Prison, Myanmar?s largest detention facility, where at least 800 political prisoners are held along with thousands of people imprisoned under criminal charges. Insein Prison is located in the outskirts of Yangon (Rangoon, the capital). Thousands of other political prisoners are held in prisons throughout the country; however it is much more difficult to obtain information about conditions in these facilities..."