World
Japanese reporter freed from Myanmar jail reveals disturbing details
A Japanese freelance reporter freed recently from a Myanmar jail has revealed disturbing tales of abuse.
Yuki Kitazumi has said that other prisoners told him they were subjected to non stop beatings in interrogations that lasted for days on end. Kitazumi himself was interrogated on made-up charges, and questioned about his friends and clients.
Kitazumi was detained at Yangon’s notorious Insein prison for a month before his release and return to Japan last week. He was arrested by authorities while in the country covering the aftermath of the February's military coup and accused of offenses including violating the terms of his visa.
The reporter has said that inmates in the prison asked him that once he returned to Japan to report what’s happening in Myanmar to the rest of the world. With no stationary, he dipped a bird feather into instant coffee or grape juice to write a memo on scrap paper.
He said they described being blind-folded, handcuffed behind their backs and forced to kneel on concrete floors while being interrogated in that position, sometimes for days without sleep or rest. He said any negative comments about the junta led to being beaten.
Kitazumi has said that he was not tortured or beaten up. The junta has said that they released him as a gesture of friendship towards Japan.
Myanmar has arrested 80 journalists since the military coup, about half of whom are still detained.