Myanmar allows family visits to prisoners for first time in 3½ years

Myanmar's military government has allowed family visits to prisoners for the first time in 3½ years, a right that had been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. Visitors must be able to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccinations and a household relationship to the prisoner being met. Further documentation is required from the visitors local administration offices and police precincts.

Myanmar's military government has allowed family members to visit political prisoners for the first time in more than three years. The move comes as the country continues to face international pressure over its human rights record.

Conditions for Visits

The new rules for prison visits were announced by the military's information office and prison officials. Visitors must be able to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccinations and a household relationship to the prisoner being met. Further documentation is required from the visitors' local administration offices and police precincts.

A family member of a prisoner convicted of incitement and high treason for protesting military rule told The Associated Press that she was allowed to meet her son for about 20 minutes in a large room after waiting for about two hours with more than 100 other visitors. She visited a prison in Thayarwaddy township in Bago region, about 95 kilometers (60 miles) north of Yangon, the country's biggest city.

She said she was happy to see her son again after more than a year and to be able to bring him medicine and money, since she last saw him at his trial in August last year.

Reaction from Political Prisoners' Groups

Tun Kyi, a senior member of the Former Political Prisoners Society, a mutual support group, said any easing of prison conditions should be regarded as an effort by the military government to score political points and ease international pressure.

"There is nothing to be happy or welcome about this case, which is intended to ease international pressure," Tun Kyi said.

Background

Family visitation rights were suspended after the coronavirus pandemic began in early 2020. Most sectors of society gradually reduced or dropped testing requirements and other virus-fighting measures since 2022, but family visits to prisoners had remained banned.

Although prisons, in Myanmar as elsewhere, saw the coronavirus spread easily because of crowding and poor hygienic conditions, the continuation of the ban on visits had been widely seen as meant to demoralize political prisoners and highlight the punishment awaiting those who challenge military rule.

The military government's decision to allow family visits to political prisoners is a positive step, but it is important to remember that the military is still holding thousands of political prisoners in detention. The international community must continue to pressure the military government to release all political prisoners and to respect the human rights of all people in Myanmar.