A/HRC/42/CRP.5
496. In some of the cases, victims suffered long-lasting health issues, including mental
health conditions, teeth loss and hearing impairments.1155 In several cases investigated by
the Mission, sources reported that those responsible for these or other injuries failed to
provide medical treatment to the victims while the victims were in their custody. 1156
497. Victims were predominantly men and boys perceived as being of fighting age and
belonging to the same ethnic group as an EAO that the Tatmadaw was fighting. 1157
Information gathered by the Mission indicates that victims were often detained for the
purpose of obtaining confessions or information on the movements of fighters, or on
suspicion of being supporters or members of EAOs or relatives of fighters in EAOs. 1158
498. A survivor told the Mission that while he was being punched and kicked by the
Tatmadaw, a soldier told him “You Ta’ang people are very small and there are not many of
you, you cannot win”.1159 Tatmadaw soldiers had arrested him on suspicion of affiliation to
the TNLA.1160 After being asked if he was Ta’ang at the time of arrest, he was punched in
the face and asked if he wanted to fight, whether he was in contact with the TNLA and how
many fighters the TNLA had.1161 The victim lost teeth as a result of the Tatmadaw beating
him in the face.1162
499. In some cases these acts were committed in the presence or with the active
participation of Tatmadaw officers who held positions of authority within the military units
responsible for the abuse.1163 A Shan man explained how a Tatmadaw commander, present
while he was repeatedly hit by soldiers during an interrogation, said to him, “Don’t make
the soldiers angry, or you will be beaten”.1164 The victim told the Mission that he had been
arrested by the Tatmadaw for having provided water to SSA-S fighters who had stopped at
his village. The Tatmadaw hit the man on his face and chest with the end of their guns and
punched and kicked him while asking him why he had talked to the Shan fighters.1165
500. In most cases documented by the Mission, the Tatmadaw inflicted severe pain or
suffering on men and boys during interrogations conducted at the time of or shortly after,
their capture.1166 When a number of suspects were captured simultaneously, often without
being told why, they were separated and violently interrogated individually, in different but
close-by locations.1167
501. The Mission received information that, in July 2018, in Kachin State, Tatmadaw
soldiers detained three Kachin men on suspicion of affiliation to the KIA.1168 A source
indicated that the victims were not carrying any weapons at the time of their arrest. 1169
Credible information received by the Mission indicates that the three men were tied up,
interrogated separately, subjected to death threats and beaten until they confessed to being
KIA fighters.1170 Sources reported that the confessions obtained from the victims during the
1155
1156
1157
1158
1159
1160
1161
1162
1163
1164
1165
1166
1167
1168
1169
1170
138
GM-019, GI-028, GI-043, GI-041, PI-126, PI-164, PI-165.
GI-028, GI-045, GI-046, PI-164.
GI-028, GI-030, GI-045, GI-046, GI-024, GI-034, GI-035, GI-051, PI-126, PI-164, PI-165, PI-166,
FFFGEN-1-85854, FFFGEN-1-85853, rows 106, 99, 68, 129 and 199 of FFFGEN-1-85769, V-389,
V-391.
GI-023, GI-024, GI-034, GI-046, PI-126, PI-164, PI-165, PI-166, V-392.
PI-126.
PI-126.
PI-126.
PI-126.
GI-024, GI-034, GI-035, GI-045, GI-046.
GI-024.
GI-024.
GI-028, GI-034, GI-035, PI-126, GI-046.
GI-028, GI-034, GI-035, GI-045, GI-046.
GI-028, GI-030, GI-051.
GI-051.
GI-028, GI-030, GI-051.
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