Seven convicts were killed in a prison in Myanmar's northern region

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

Locals refute junta reports that the captives were killed while attempting to flee Kalay Prison.

 

On Tuesday evening, prison guards shot and killed seven persons and injured 12 others inside Kalay Prison in western Sagaing Region in what the junta described as a hostage crisis and an attempt to flee by the detainees, according to the junta.

Locals and a resistance group in the area have dismissed the military's allegation and criticised the shootings.

According to the military council, 50 convicts kidnapped three staff members and attempted to flee the prison.

Myo Min Tun, Win Ko Naing, Maung Nyi, Chan Min Ko, Tuu Khine, Nyunt Win Aung, and Salai Shalom Shan Thang Lian—also known as Van Damme—were among the victims, according to the junta.

 

Salai Shalom Shan Htan Hlyan, a member of the anti-junta Chin Nationalities Defence Force (CNDF), was captured in June, and data about the other victims could not be verified at the time of publication.
Under Section 505a of the Penal Code, he was charged with illegal possession of a firearm as well as incitement.

He was a "very dependable young man," according to a CNDF spokeswoman, who attended Chin National League for Democracy demonstrations ahead of the 2020 general election and was an active participant in anti-dictatorship protests after last year's military takeover.

"He devoted his entire life to Chin State's well-being.
"He made a lot of sacrifices for the country," the official stated.

 

Allegations of a jail escape attempt were refuted by a spokesperson of the ethnic Chin rebel force as "impossible."

"I believe they instigated a riot within the prison."
"It's quite unlikely that they attempted to flee," said a CNDF spokeswoman.

Many of the deceased were shot in the head, according to photographs of their remains.

"This is an inexcusably heinous act.
They weren't even at war at the time.
"Killing unarmed convicts in the head is horrible," the CNDF representative stated, adding that his group "strongly opposed" the killings.

 

Several Kalay villagers told Myanmar Now that the actual number of people hurt could be more than the military's claimed 12.
According to information presented by captives released in periodic amnesties, the prison has been the location of serious human rights violations.

According to residents, the shootings began when a fight broke out between the convicts and the wardens over the constant torture.