Security forces involved in systematic torture

United Nations investigators said yesterday they have found evidence of systematic torture by Myanmar security forces and identified some of the most senior perpetrators.

The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), formed in 2018 to analyse evidence of serious violations of international law, said victims were subject to beatings, electric shocks, gang rape, strangulation and other forms of torture like the removal of fingernails with pliers.

"We have uncovered significant evidence, including eyewitness testimony, showing systematic torture in Myanmar detention facilities," Nicholas Koumjian, head of the IIMM, said in a statement accompanying the 16-page report.

The torture sometimes resulted in death, the report said. Children, who are often unlawfully detained as proxies for their missing parents, were among those tortured, it said.

Perpetrators identified so far include high-level commanders, the report said, although names were withheld due to ongoing investigations and concerns about alerting the individuals.

Report says high-level commanders among perpetrators Tens of thousands of people detained since 2021 coup

A spokesperson for Myanmar's military-backed government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The military-backed government has not responded to over two dozen requests by the UN team for information about the alleged crimes and requests to access the country, the UN report said.

The military has said it has a duty to ensure peace and security. It has denied atrocities have taken place and has blamed "terrorists" for causing unrest.

The findings in the report covering a one-year period through to June 30 were based on information from more than 1,300 sources, including hundreds of eyewitness testimonies as well as forensic evidence and documents.

Investigators focused on torture partly because many victims were able to identify perpetrators individually which Koumjian, a former prosecutor, said could help with future convictions. "People often know the names or they certainly know the faces of those who torture them or who torture their friends," Koumjian told reporters in Geneva.

Myanmar has been in chaos since a 2021 military coup against an elected civilian government plunged the country into civil war. Tens of thousands of people have been detained since then, the United Nations says.