A/HRC/39/CRP.2 People had to behave like robots. At night, we couldn’t move or we would get kicked. Buthidaung prison was like hell.1436 669. The Mission received multiple accounts of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment against Rohingya men and boys held in Buthidaung prison following the 2012 violence.1437 Similar violations were verified up until 2017, indicating that ill-treatment at Buthidaung prison is endemic. Mistreatment was particularly rife in the period after the June 2012 violence in Rakhine State. However, similar patterns were seen in the aftermath of the 9 October 2016 attacks by ARSA and the subsequent “clearance operations”, when significant numbers of Rohingya men were arrested. There are indications that similar abuse also occurred in the context of the “clearance operations” after 25 August 2017.1438 Much of the abuse was perpetrated directly by the prison authorities, but also by ethnic Rakhine fellow-detainees,1439 with facilitation or sanction from the prison authorities. Information received suggests that the mistreatment was particularly acute against pre-trial detainees and that conditions improved once a person had received a custodial sentence.1440 670. Detainees frequently suffered mistreatment prior to their arrival at the prison, while being transported, or when taken from the prison to court hearings. 1441 Tatmadaw soldiers usually provided transportation, with detainees transported in large, open military trucks. Detainees would be literally thrown into the back of the trucks, normally after their hands had been tied behind their backs. They were routinely covered with a large tarpaulin and then subjected to repeated beatings, with rifle butts or clubs, or kicked by soldiers. Soldiers would also sit on or walk over the detainees under the tarpaulin. Beatings and other forms of mistreatment would continue throughout the journey. One interviewee described the treatment he suffered: As well as hitting us with rifle butts, Tatmadaw soldiers put cigarettes out on our faces. While he forced a lit cigarette into my nose, one soldier said, “please, have a cigarette”. The hair inside my nose burned and it was very painful. The soldiers tortured us all like this throughout the 16 kilometres journey to the prison.1442 671. The mistreatment during transportation led to serious injuries among detainees, including broken bones and head injuries, sometimes with lasting consequences. One interviewee described the difficulties he had in breathing due to the impact on his chest, 1443 while another explained how he lost consciousness during the journey because of the beatings.1444 Another interviewee explained that, more than five years later, he still had difficulties walking, due to the pain from his back and a broken wrist.1445 Another interviewee remembered how a fellow detainee was beaten unconscious on a journey back from a court hearing.1446 672. Once detainees had arrived at Buthidaung prison, they continued to suffer illtreatment. Cells were extremely cramped, with numbers vastly exceeding capacity. There were no beds or bedding, and often not even the space to lie down. Former detainees estimate that the number of detainees in the cells was up to seven times the actual capacity, with hundreds of men held together in the same room.1447 Food and drink was insufficient, often 1436 1437 1438 1439 1440 1441 1442 1443 1444 1445 1446 1447 DI-037. While the Mission has not received information to suggest that detainees from other ethnic groups were treated in a similarly manner, this should not be discounted and warrants further investigation. CI-176, RI-013. CI-136, QI-105, QI-106, QI-107, RI-011. K-076.3. CI-136, DI-037, QI-105, QI-106, RI-011, K-076. CI-136. DI-037. QI-106. QI-105. DI-037. CI-130, CI-136, DI-037, QI-105, QI-106, QI-107, QI-108, RI-011. 157