World  - GENEVA (3 September 2019) - UN human rights experts* have expressed grave concerns about the use of incommunicado detention by the military in Myanmar, along with allegations of torture and ill-treatment and deaths in custody since the outbreak of armed conflict in December 2018 in northern Rakhine and Chin.

"The practice of incommunicado detention must be immediately brought to an end. Detainees' right to a fair trial, including access to a lawyer, must be upheld," the experts said. "There must be a credible independent investigation into the allegations of torture and inhuman treatment, deaths in custody, and reliance on forced confessions in cases involving Arakan Army-related allegations. All perpetrators of such violations must be held accountable."

The incommunicado detention of five men arrested in Kyaukyan village is not an isolated occurrence; the experts have received information about several other cases of incommunicado detention of Rakhine men and boys charged with terrorism offences. Eight Rakhine men were held incommunicado in Yangon for almost a month, and a ninth man remains in incommunicado detention without charge. In another case, four men from Ponnagyun in Rakhine were arrested on 27 July and remain in incommunicado detention, and six minors were also arrested and detained incommunicado for two weeks. In a separate case, one man has been held incommunicado on charges under the Counter-Terrorism Law since 5 August.