A Licnese to Torture ? In Mandalay Palace interrogation center, one of the most notorious interrogation centers in Myanmar, three members of All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) – both male and female – faced an extreme form of torture by which the soldiers thrusted bamboo stick into their rectums while asking questions to them.45 In a typical criminal case in Myanmar, an accused should not be kept under interrogation for more than 24 hours. Police cannot detain accused under interrogation for more than 24 hours without court authorization pursuant to Section 61 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Since the coup attempt, many families have never been informed of the victim’s whereabouts since the time of arrest or received the dead body of the victim after being held incommunicado for a certain period ranging from a few days to several months. The interrogation centers usually lack of hygiene according to the interviewees. Z recalled that there was only one “bathroom” for all accused in the interrogation center he was taken to. In truth, that “bathroom” is a restroom with a toilet where everyone uses water to only wash face and brush their teeth. Another former political prisoner recalled that steamed rice and curry at breakfast and other meals are almost inedible while edible curries are scarce for each person. 2.2.3 Severe Situation in Prisons In Myanmar, prisons are already notorious for lack of hygiene, being overcrowded, inhuman treatment, inedible food, scarce drinking water and bath water, unsanitary conditions, forced labor and violence. Seldom, prisons are like a sanctuary for those who consecutively suffered gigantic amounts of cruel torture in interrogation or detention centers. However, atrocities and ill-treatment still occur in prisons. Equality analysis found that there are several prisoners sent to the prison without knowing charges against them. They would only know it when they were remanded to court. An interviewee who was imprisoned in Insein prison answered “I only knew about changes against me when I was remanded at the court. There are many others like me. The judges would tell us if we are charged under only Section 505 of the Penal Code or if there are more charges under further legal provisions.”46 Prison cells are overcrowded as the number of inmates has almost doubled. Toilets and bath places are not enough and do not comply with a fundamental standard. A former female political prisoner said that there are only two toilets for 125 inmates in they ward she stayed and female warders inside Insein prison. Furthermore, the walls of the 30 45 “Fresh evidence emerges of brutal torture of prisoners inside Mandalay Palace”, Myanmar Now, January 3, 2022, https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/fresh-evidence-emerges-of-brutal-torture-of-prisoners-inside-mandalay-palace/ (accessed June 10, 2023) 46 Equality Myanmar’s interview. Equality Myanmar