started.23 The military has been accused of committing and condoning torture for decades, including 102 allegations against commander-in-chief and coup leader, Min Aung Hlaing, alone.24 It does not appear that any individual has been investigated or brought to justice following allegations of torture or mistreatment of journalists. Impunity has remained rife. Military interrogation centers used a range of methods intended to dehumanize and extract forced confessions from journalists. These methods included beatings, stabbings, stress positions, burnings, electric shocks, and mock executions.25 The military also resorted to sexual violence against women and men journalists.26 Several media observers believed that interrogators first and foremost wanted to inflict harm and extracting a confession was secondary.27 In most cases, military interrogators also demanded information about detained journalists’ peers and networks, as well as their journalistic sources. Standards in civilian prisons were little better than military interrogation centers, with extremely poor food and housing, medical treatment denied, and torture endemic.28 An unknown number of people, perhaps including journalists, also died in prison from Covid-19 due to significant overcrowding and a complete lack of medical care.29 23 Another two journalists were likely tortured to death by other actors. See for example: Committee to Protect Journalists (2023), “10 Journalists and Media Workers Killed in Myanmar”. 24 Columbia Law School’s Human Rights Institute (2023), “Under whose command?”. 25 Amnesty International (2022), “Myanmar: Detainees tortured to crush opposition to coup”. 26 Frontier Myanmar (2022), “I reported on the military’s abuses, and then I became a victim”. 27 Key informant interviews with four media leaders carried out on 28 September 2023. 28 AAPP (2022), “Political Prisoners Experience in Interrogation”. 29 PBS (2021), “There was no break – it was constant”. 9