A/HRC/39/CRP.2
676. Rohingya men and boys were also subjected to sexual humiliation, often in the
presence of other inmates. Detainees experienced the degrading treatment of being forced to
walk naked from their cell to the shower and showering in groups of up to 20 to 30 persons
in front of one another, including family members, which was particularly uncomfortable and
considered shameful.1461 Detainees reportedly had to wait outside their cells naked until they
dried.1462 Another detainee described how guards burned the genitals of Rohingya
detainees.1463
677. A significant number of Rohingya detainees died because of mistreatment in
Buthidaung prison. Some were beaten to death and corpses were dragged out of the cells. 1464
One former detainee described seeing four people killed in his cell: “They were beaten to
death by the guards in front of me. Three others, who were beaten a lot, died a few months
later.”1465
678. Detainees also suffered serious injuries, including broken bones, infected wounds and
other life-changing injuries.1466 One former detainee described the impact of his regular
beatings, for more than a month, by both ethnic Rakhine and guards:
My back was injured, and I can no longer carry things on my back. They beat me on
my toes and ankle and my little finger was broken. I have scars on my hands and feet
and suffer pain on my back and waist.1467
679. Corruption was also prevalent within Buthidaung prison. Prison guards demanded
bribes to reduce or end the beatings or to provide preferential treatment. 1468 Relatives or
friends had to pay a fee to visit detainees. 1469 Large payments could also get prisoners
released.1470
4.
(a)
Government response to the 2012 violence
Curfews and prohibition of meetings of more than five people
680. One of the first responses of the Government to the violence in Maungdaw was the
imposition by the Maungdaw Township Administrator on 8 June of a curfew and prohibition
of public gatherings of more than five people.1471 Similar 2012 orders were imposed in
Buthidaung, Kyaukpyu, Ramree, Sittwe and Thandwe townships. 1472 According to the law,
such orders should only remain in force for two months, unless the President directs
1461
1462
1463
1464
1465
1466
1467
1468
1469
1470
1471
1472
CI-130, CI-136, DI-037, QI-105, QI-106, QI-108; KI-076.3, KI-076.4, KI-076.5.
KI-076.3, KI-076.4.
DI-037.
CI-136, DI-037, QI-105, QI-106, QI-107, QI-108, RI-011; KI-076.2, KI-076.4, KI-076.5.
QI-106.
CI-136, DI-037, QI-107.
CI-136.
CI-082, CI-175, DI-037, QI-104, QI-107.
CI-082, CI-136, QI-104, QI-107.
DI-010, DI-037; K-076.4.
Township General Administration Department, Curfew Order No. 1/2012 (8 June 2012), available at:
http://www.myanmargeneva.org/pressrelease/2.%20Preventive%20measures%20and%20actions%20t
aken%20by%20the%20government.pdf. See page 7. The power to impose such curfew orders appears
to have been increasingly used by the General Administration Department, through township
administrators. It is viewed as an indirect way for the Tatmadaw to exercise control. See: M. Crouch,
“The Everyday Emergency: Between the Constitution and the Code of Criminal Procedure”, in
Constitutional Change and Legal Reform in Myanmar, A. Harding, Khin Khin Oo, eds. (Hart
Publishing/Bloomsbury, 2017), p. 165.
See presentation posted by the Permanent Mission of the Union of Myanmar to the United Nations
and other international organizations in Geneva on “Preventive measures and actions taken by the
Government”, p. 2, available at:
http://www.myanmargeneva.org/pressrelease/2.%20Preventive%20measures%20and%20actions%20t
aken%20by%20the%20government.pdf
159