Type of Incident

Torture

Date of Incident(s)

August 15th 2021

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

A--- village, Ma Htaw village tract,[2] Dwe Lo Township, Mu Traw (Hpapun) District

Victim Information

Name

U[3] B---

C---

D---

Age

46

32

30

Sex

Male

Male

Male

Nationality

Karen

-

-

Family   

Married

-

-

Occupation

Shopkeeper

-

-

Religion

Buddhist

-

-

Position

Local villager

Local villager

Local villager

Village

A--- village

A--- village

A--- village

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Name(s)           

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Zaw Min Htaik

Lieutenant Colonel

Light Infantry Battalion #407

Tanintharyi Township

Unknown

1. Explain in detail how you collected this information.

A villager from A--- village informed a KHRG researcher about this incident. The researcher then went to interview U E---, a A--- villager who witnessed the incident.

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

The person who shared this information was a first-hand witness to the incident.

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail. For each incident, be sure to include 1) when the incident happened, 2) where it happened, 3) what happened, 4) how it happened, 5) who was involved, and 6) why it happened. Also describe any villager response(s) to the incident, the aftermath and the current living situation of the victims. Please use the space prepared below, and create an attachment if needed.

On August 15th 2021, an incident of torture occurred in A--- village, Ma Htaw village tract, Dwe Lo Township, Mu Traw District. The victims were U B--- (46 years old), U C--- (32 years old) and D--- (30 years old), all from A--- village. The perpetrator was Lieutenant Colonel Zaw Min Htaik from State Administration Council (SAC)[4] Light Infantry Battalion (LIB)[5] #407 [based in Tanintharyi Township, Mergui-Tavoy District].

Earlier in the day [on August 15th], Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)[6] soldiers from Battalion #102 attacked SAC troops[7] from LIB #407 in the middle of the road at A--- village [presumably due to trespass into Karen National Union (KNU)[8] territory]. There were no casualties on either side. After the fighting, however, Lieutenant Colonel Zaw Min Htaik from SAC LIB #407 gathered the villagers from A--- village (about 40 to 50 villagers) in the middle of the road and then tortured three of them by punching them and kicking them with his military boots. According to U E--- [one of the villagers who had been gathered in the road and witnessed the torture]: “I thought I would die in the middle of the road of the village.”

They [the SAC] also conducted indiscriminate shelling at the entrance to the village and inside the village.

Did the victim(s) provide permission to use this information? Explain how that permission was provided.

U E--- gave permission for KHRG to use this information.