Type of Incident

SAC [State Administration Council,[2] also known as the Burma Army[3]] arrested four villagers and tortured them at the checkpoint.

Date of Incident(s)

20 March 2026

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

Noh T'Kaw (Kyainseikgyi) Town, Noh T’Kaw Township, Dooplaya District.

Victim Information

Name

Saw[4] A---

Saw B---

Saw C---

Saw D---

Age

22 years old

18 years old

16 years old

19 years old

Gender

Man

Man

Boy

Man

Ethnicity

Karen

Karen

Karen

Karen

Marital Status  

Single

Single

Single

Single

Occupation

Farmer

Farmer

Farmer

Farmer

Religion

Buddhist

Buddhist

Buddhist

Buddhist

Position

Villager

Villager

Villager

Villager

Village

Aa--- village, Lay Wah Hka village tract,[5] Noh T’Kaw Township, Dooplaya District

Aa--- village, Lay Wah Hka village tract, Noh T’Kaw Township, Dooplaya District

Aa--- village, Lay Wah Hka village tract, Noh T’Kaw Township, Dooplaya District

Aa--- village, Lay Wah Hka village tract, Noh T’Kaw Township, Dooplaya District

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Name(s)           

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Unknown

Unknown

IB [Infantry Battalion][6] #283, #284, #32; Seik Gyi police; and immigration officers

 Seik Gyi [Kyainseikgyi] Town

Unknown

1. Explain in detail how you collected this information.

A villager who knew the four young people who were tortured contacted the field researcher, so I [a KHRG researcher] knew this information.

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

I [a KHRG researcher] conducted an interview with one of the victims, [Saw A---,] who was tortured. I [KHRG researcher] took the picture of the injury, so this information is true.

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

Seik Gyi [Kyainseikgyi] Town in Dooplaya District is under the control of the SAC [State Administration Council]. Villagers from both nearby and distant areas were travelling through Seik Gyi Town. Some villagers from distant areas did not know the alternative routes to avoid the town, so they passed through it. Police in Seik Gyi Town, along with SAC soldiers and immigration officers, were operating and conducting checks at the entrance of the town on the main road. This checkpoint is located in the Seik Gyi Town–Kyon Kone area, where multiple groups [of the Burma Army] are involved in the checking.

On 20 March 2026, at around 10 am, Saw A---, Saw B---, Saw C---, and Saw D--- accompanied two friends, both women, from Aa--- village, Lay Wah Hka village tract, Noh T’Kaw (Kyainseikgyi) Township, Dooplaya District, who were travelling to another village via Seik Gyi Town. When they arrived at the checkpoint, the SAC stopped them but did not stop the two women. The SAC asked questions in Burmese, but the young people only spoke Karen, so they did not understand what they were being asked. When they [the Burma Army] checked Saw A---’s phone, they saw a picture of his friend wearing camouflage trousers. Then, the SAC [soldiers] punched each of them [the four men] in the face at least three times. After that, they were handcuffed and forced to kneel with their hands raised. They were then hit with a stick at least 30 times each.

As the two women were not stopped by the SAC at the checkpoint, they went to Ab--- village, Noh T’Kaw village tract, Noh T’Kaw Township. They informed one of their friends in Ab--- village about the incident. Then, their friend asked for help from a BGF [Border Guard Force][7] checkpoint authority in the village. The BGF checkpoint authority contacted the SAC and informed them that those young people were civilians, not enemies [members of an armed group]. Therefore, on 20 March 2026, at about 11 am, the SAC released them. After they were released, they returned to the village and did not continue their journey. [After release, they did not seek formal treatment at a medical facility.]

In March 2026, [a KHRG researcher conducted an interview with Saw A--- and] he explained that after he returned home, he could not move his body easily or sleep well at night because of his injury. He even needed to take medicine to reduce the pain. Saw A--- added: “I could not breathe well and felt dizzy when they hit me. I could not bear the pain, and I thought it would be better if they shot me dead. Last night, I could not sleep well. I cannot lie on my back for long, so I sometimes have to sleep lying prone.”

Saw A---'s injury had worsened, and he was experiencing more pain when the KHRG researcher asked him about his injury again [later] in March 2026.

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

The information can be used. [The victim, Saw A---, allowed KHRG to use the information.]