Insein Prison

Insein Prison () is located in Yangon Division, near Yangon (Rangoon), the old capital of Myanmar (formerly Burma). From 1988 to 2011 it was run by the military junta of Myanmar, named the State Law and Order Restoration Council from 1988 to 2003 and the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) from 2003 to 2011, and was used largely to repress political dissidents.

The prison is notorious worldwide for its inhumane conditions, corruption, abuse of inmates, and use of mental and physical torture. The facility is closed to the public, but its distinctive radial design is visible from the air when departing Yangon by plane.

History

Insein Prison was established in 1887 during British colonial rule, approximately north of downtown Rangoon (now Yangon). The facility was constructed to relieve overcrowding at the Rangoon Central Gaol, located on Commissioner's Road (now Bogyoke Aung San Road) near Downtown Yangon. By 1908, both Insein and Rangoon jails each held over 2,000 inmates, making them the largest prisons in British Burma. Prison population statistics were seen by colonial authorities as a sign of effective law enforcement, despite growing concerns about prison overcrowding and harsh conditions.

During the 1920s, Burma had developed a reputation as one of the most violent provinces of British India. With a population of around 13 million, nearly 20,000 individuals—mostly men—were imprisoned annually. Overcrowding led to expansions of existing prisons, including Insein.

Architecturally, Insein Prison was modeled on the Pentonville panopticon system, inspired by 18th-century penal theorist Jeremy Bentham. This design featured radial wings extending from a central observation tower, allowing maximum surveillance and minimal interaction among inmates. It emphasized reform through labor and strict discipline, reflecting evolving penal philosophies of the British Empire.

Following the demolition of Rangoon Central Gaol after World War II (its former site is now occupied by the New General Hospital), Insein became the principal prison serving the Rangoon region. Its reputation for brutality intensified during the military dictatorship of General Ne Win (1962–1988), when it was used to imprison political opponents. Conditions were described as inhumane, with reports of torture, prolonged solitary confinement, and medical neglect.

The prison gained international notoriety after the crackdown on the 1988 pro-democracy uprising. Thousands of activists, students, and intellectuals were detained at Insein under harsh conditions. Among its most well-known former inmates is Dr. Ma Thida, a writer and physician imprisoned from 1993 to 1999. Her memoir, ''Sanchaung, Insein, Harvard'', recounts her experiences and eventual academic journey.

By 2009, Insein had a theoretical capacity of 5,000 to 6,000 inmates, but was believed to be housing up to 10,000. Despite government claims in the 2010s that all political prisoners had been released, independent organizations, including the United Nations and the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) (AAPP), reported continued arrests and detentions of political dissidents. The AAPP operates a replica of an Insein prison cell to raise awareness of prison conditions and honor those imprisoned for their beliefs. As of 2015, the AAPP estimated that around 160 political prisoners remained behind its walls, underscoring its ongoing role in Myanmar’s human rights challenges.

Conditions

Sanitation and healthcare

At Insein, diseases and injuries usually go untreated. A former prisoner at Insein recalls that "When we had fever they never gave us any medicine. If it gets very bad then they send you to the prison hospital, where many people die. The sick prisoners want to go to the hospital, but the guards never send them there until it's already too late, so many die once they get to the hospital. I got fever but I didn't want to go to their hospital, because I was afraid of their dirty needles and contagious diseases. At the hospital they have doctors, but not enough medicines." The same prisoner continued, "They allowed us to have a bath once a day. We had to line up in rows of five men at a time, and we were allowed five bowls of water, then soap, then seven more bowls of water. But there were many problems – sometimes there was no water supply, so they wouldn't let us take a bath and we could hardly even get water to drink. There were latrines in two places – outside of the room for the daytime, and in the room at night. The latrines always had guards, and to use them you had to bribe the guard with two cheroots. The latrine was just a bucket, with no water. You could use paper if you could get some, but we used to beg scraps of cloth from the men who worked in the sewing workshop out in the compound."

Tortures

Prisoners have reportedly been beaten with a rubber pipe filled with sand and chased by dogs, forcing them to crawl on their hands and knees across a gravel path.

Protests within the prison

1991 prisoner hunger strike

According to a former prisoner's account, in 1991 several prisoners held a hunger strike, demanding proper healthcare and the right to read newspapers. However, their demands were not met, and the prisoners were tortured using the gravel path method.

2008 mass shooting of inmates

On 3 May 2008, over 100 prisoners were shot by guards at the prison resulting in the deaths of 36 inmates. A further four inmates were later tortured and killed by the prison guards who believed they had been the ringleaders of the initial protest that culminated in the mass shooting.

2011 prisoner hunger strike

On 24 May 2011, the Myanmar government retaliated against a hunger strike by about 30 political prisoners in the prison by forcing the ringleaders into solitary confinement. The hunger strike began when seven female prisoners protested against a government prisoner amnesty program that failed to include most political detainees. On 23 May, 22 male prisoners, including three Buddhist monks, joined the protest, demanding better prison living conditions and improved family visiting rights. According to Aung Din, the executive director of the Washington-based U.S. Campaign for Burma, "The latest information we have received is that six of the ‘leaders’ of the strike from the male group have been moved to what is known as the 'dog cell'—a small cell block where they could be tortured and family visits are not allowed." One of the prisoners moved was an editor of ''The Kantaryawaddy Times'', Nyi Nyi Htun.

2022 prison explosion

In October 2022, a blast occurred at the prison in which eight persons died, including guards, and 18 visitors were injured. The incident occurred at 9:40 AM Myanmar Standard Time. According to local witnesses, two parcel bombs detonated in the morning. but the cause of explosion is yet unknown

Notable prisoners

Most famous illegally held prisoners in Insein prison from 1988 to 2017:

* Student leaders of the 1988 Uprising, including among others: Min Ko Naing, Pyone Cho, Ko Ko Gyi, Kyaw Min Yu, and Mya Aye.

* Intellectual and democracy activist Win Tin, and a host of others who were elected to parliament as members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in 1990 but not allowed to serve their term in parliament.

* Aung San Suu Kyi the Nobel Peace Prize-winner human-rights activist was confined to Insein in 2003, 2007 and 2009).

* Video-journalist Sithu Zeya who was arrested in April 2010 for photographing the aftermath of an attack on civilians by the military junta as a reporter for the Democratic Voice of Burma.

* Video-journalist Ngwe Soe Lin who was arrested in an internet cafe in Rangoon on April 14, 2010, for his video coverage of Burmese children orphaned by Cyclone Nargis in 2008. Democracy activist Aye Yung was held for trial at Insein Prison for distribution of leaflets at Dagon University.

* Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were held for more than 500 days following their arrest on 12 December 2017, due to their investigation of the Inn Din massacre. Amid international outcry over their imprisonment, both were released on 7 May 2019, following a pardon from President of Myanmar Win Myint. While imprisoned in Insein Prison, Wa Lone wrote a children's book, ''Jay Jay the Journalist''.Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo: Reuters journalists freed in Myanmar
''www.bbc.co.uk''

References

External links

PDF "Burma's Insein Prison: punishment and oppression"

Burma Campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi in Insein Prison







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Prisons in Myanmar
Buildings and structures in Yangon Region
1887 establishments in Asia