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The last days of Mr. Leo Nichols
This appeared in the ABSDF publication 'Tortured Voices: Personal
Accounts of Burma's Interrogation Centres' (July 1998)
It was in May 1996 when I saw Mr. Nichols in Insein Prison. I was
serving my final year of a seven year prison sentence, and the Burmese
military junta was campaigning hard to attract foreign visitors
to the country. They had christened it 'Visit Myanmar Year.' Even
so, I remember that the military leaders imprisoned many foreigners
that year. Most of these foreigners were from China, Singapore,
Malaysia and Taiwan and the majority had come to Burma for business
reasons. There were also more than 400 Thai fishermen, who were
arrested, buy they are frequently detained.
Among the many imprisoned foreigners I encountered. I can recall
two with Burmese connections. One of them was Dr. Shum, also known
as Yunuk and Saw Yan Naing, who was a Burmese with Malaysian citizenship.
He was a businessman, an artist and a songwriter. The other was
Mr. Leo Nichols. I didn't know if he was Burmese. All that I knew
then was that he was the honorary consul general to Denmark and
was said to be very close to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Dr. Shum and
Mr. Nichols were sent to Insein Special Prison where political prisoners
are held. It was a well-known fact in INsein at the time that the
Burmese military regime held a grudge against these two, more so
than any other prisoners did in Insein.
In an evening in May 1996, when I was outside emptying the chamber
pot with other prisoners, we saw a man in yellow sports shirt and
a white prison sarong. He was sitting in the back of a truck among
rice pots and a blue hood was pulled over his head. The truck was
used to carry rice and curry pots from the main Insein Jail to our
Special Jail. "A new prisoner," I thought to myself.
Out of sheer curiosity, we hung around for a while to see if we
could find out who the new prisoner was. I thought he could be someone
I knew
a fellow student perhaps. We saw a warder lead him down from the
truck before the rice pots were unloaded. He was then taken into
the main jail office. He was tall and white, and was handcuffed
behind his back.
Soon after, two warders took him towards the cells of Hall-I where
we were housed. By that time the handcuffs had been taken off and
the hood removed. The man didn't look Burmese but resembled a white
foreigner. He was wearing spectacles and appeared uncomfortable
in his prison sarong, which was designed for Burmese prisoners.
The sarong barely covered his knees. We saw him untying and retying
the sarong while he was walking along as if it was not properly
fastened.
When he arrived at his cell we noticed he had a large forehead
and thin hair. It was clear that he was both shocked and frightened.
We wanted to say hello to him but hello to him but the two accompanying
warders warned us not to. "Don't speak to him now," they
said. "The MIS captain is still in the main jail office."
Because the warders were friendly with us we followed their advice
and instead smiled at the new foreign prisoner. Blank and perplexed,
he looked back at us but didn't say a word. Shortly afterwards,
we saw warders drag him into Cell-5. However, to our luck the next
cell housed an elected representative of the NLD who knew the foreign
prisoner. Soon they were speaking in English, a language the warders
didn't understand.
Within half an hour, we came to know that his name was Mr. Leo
Nichols and that he had just been sentenced to three years imprisonment
for helping Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. He was suffering from dysentery
and we were soon busy looking for medicines for him. He said he
could not eat the prison food, so we collected biscuits and other
dry snacks for him from fellow political prisoners. We sent the
food to him through a friendly warder and hoped that it might satisfy
his hunger for a while.
Mr. Nichols was unlucky. We were between family prison visits and
the supplies we had secretly stockpiled were almost gone. We were
therefore unable to give him better food. Later we were informed
that the rights of political prisoners and o foreign prisoners.
He advised Mr. Nichols to talk to the prison authorities to demand
his rights. The Member of Parliament also explained to him that
the jail hall where he was being housed was for political prisoners
and that he should not be disheartened. As soon as Mr. Nichols heard
that he was surrounded by political prisoners, he said "Hello"
to everyone in English.
The same night he was thrown into prison, MIS officers came and
took Mr. Nichols away for further questioning. He was taken after
the warders called lights-out. They took him to the Interrogation
Cell in the prison. As usual, a hood was pulled over his head. Mr.
Nichols head to spend the whole night in the Interrogation Cell
while being questioned and abused. We saw warders bring him back
to his cell the following evening.
We cheered him up whenever we had the chance to get out of our
cells and walk by his cell. Those who could speak English spoke
to him as soon as the warder disappeared, and asked him various
questions.
I recall some of the things he told us. He said he was detained
for helping Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and that he had sent faxes for
her. As a result he said he was given three years imprisonment with
hard labour. The court that sentenced him conducted a summary trial.
He couldn't tell us the name of the court, but he tried to explain
to us that it was a special court.
Before he was sentenced he was taken to a MIS Interrogation Centre
and questioned for six consecutive days. He said when the MIS came
to arrest him they confiscated all his money, which was more than
two million kyat. The money had come from the recent sale of some
land in Maymyo. We didn't know whether it was his own land or if
it belonged to someone else. He told us that he was arrested the
day after the land sale.
He wasn't able to tell us exactly where he was sent after his sentencing
and before his transfer to our cells. But he did say that he was
taken to a hall where there were many prisoners, and that he had
to stay there for a few days. He was then transferred to a tiny
room and had to stay there a few more days until he was taken to
our hall.
The prison authorities confiscated his watch and other clothes
upon his arrival at Insein. The pair of trousers he was wearing
was taken away because the prison officials said that he could not
wear trousers in prison. Instead, gave him the yellow sports shirt
he was now wearing.
We asked him whether he was beaten or forced to sit in a poun-san?
position upon his arrival. He said he had to sit in this position
for a long time although he was not beaten. When he was telling
us this, we sensed a feeling of distress in his voice. Judging by
what he had said, we concluded that prior to his sentencing he was
detained in the section of Insein where prisoners are held before
they are taken to court. On the day he was given three years imprisonment,
we believe that he was probably transferred either to Hall 6,which
was known as the punishment hall, taken to a 'dog kennel' cell or
held in one of the detached cells within the interrogation hall.
We also concluded that by forcing Mr.Nichols to sit in the poun-san
position for long periods, the military junta had shown their extreme
hatred of him.
This reminded us of U Win Tin and Saya U Tin Moe, the two most
well known political prisoners in Insein at the time. The junta
jad made U Win Tin, an NLD Central Executive Committee member, stay
in a call with well-known criminals, notorious for their bullying,
extortion and physical abuse. As for Saya U Tin Moe, who is widely
known for his fiery poems, he was forced to share a cell with criminals
in the same hall. However, both of them were allowed to keep a shirt
and a sarong, which they each brought from their homes. In the case
of Mr. Nichols, he was not even allowed to keep any of his belongings.
We therefore all thought that Mr. Nichos was probably the most hated
prisoner of the regime.
Mr. Nichols also had diabetes and that made his condition all the
worse. As a sufferer of this disease, he was required to be very
careful with what he ate. In addition, he needed regular exercise.
However, he wasn't given proper food and he was never able to take
regular exercise, which he needed to alleviate his suffering.
Mr. Nichols told us that he had to stand u0p for hours during his
interrogations and was not allowed to either sit down or walk around
in order to diminish his stiffness and pain. According to the friendly
warder, the MIS officers and Mr. Nichols exchanged angry words in
English during one of the interrogation sessions. He told us that
he overheard some MIS officers discussing how to break down Mr.
Nichols' morale and said they were talking about the best ways to
give him a 'lesson' and 'psychological torture.' We also learned
about the ruthless determination of his interrogators. Another warder,
who got on well with us, said that MIS Major Soe Nyunt ordered his
men to carry our their duties regardless of the consequences after
he had read Mr. Nichols' interrogation report. The major said, "Be
tough on him on him no matter who he is. I'll take full responsibility
if anything happens."
Mr. Nichols confided in us that he was very afraid of the night
when he was taken away for questioning. Trembling and pitiful, he
recounted what happened during the interrogation sessions. He said
he was interrogated countless times before being sent to Insein,
and yet it was far from over. "They have continued to question
me even now, and I don't know if I can go through this any longer,"
he said. "I can't take his anymore."
He said he told the MIS everything he did for Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi but they had continued to question him repeatedly in the mistaken
belief that Mr. Nichols had helped her more than what he had revealed
to them.
We suggested to Mr. Nichols that he appeals to Chief Warden U San
Ya, who was in-charge of the Special Prison, and to his deputy U
Min Wei regarding his declining health. However U San Ya simply
told Mr. Nichols that he had no authority to provide any medicine
for his dysentery, diabetes and hypertension without the permission
of the MIS. He told Mr. Nichols, 'I am afraid the prison cannot
arrange any food that is suitable for your diabetes.'
A while later U San Ya warned us, "You must not give any medicine,
food or clothes to Mr. Nichols." He said that if the MIS conducted
a surprise search and found anything more than what he now had in
his cell, all the Special Prison officials would not only lose their
jobs but would also stand trial. "And you prisoners who have
provided food and medicine will be severely punished," he added.
Another problem that added to Mr. Nichols' misery was defecating.
The chamber pot was difficult enough to use, but he also had nothing
with which to clean himself afterwards. It was all right for Burmese
political prisoners because during our first few days and weeks
in prison we used cigar butts to clean ourselves and broken bits
from our bamboo sleeping mats. It was, however, a great discomfort
and embarrassment for Mr. Nichols.
We gave him bits of clothing torn from old prison uniforms and
told him to soak them in the water from the drinking water pot to
clean himself. One of the prisoners exchanged his new prison sarong
with the old one that Mr. Nichols was wearing, and another prisoner
temporarily changed his shirt with Mr. Nichols' yellow sports shirt
so that he could wash it for him.
We hid a small piece of soap in one corner of the water enclosure
for him. By various means we persuaded the warder, whose duty was
to keep an eye on Mr. Nichols was able to spend a little more time
having his bath. We also provided him with towels. We pleaded with
the warder not to report these activities to the prison officials,
and we succeeded because we didn't hear any complaints from the
officials' regarding Mr. Nichols. In return, Mr. Nichols would repeatedly
thank all the political prisoners who walked past his cell. We took
his expression of gratitude as recognition of our help.
While he was in Insein, Mr. Nichols was particularly interested
in four political prisoners whom he felt extremely sympathetic towards.
They were the Venerable Saya Daw U Nyana, a monk who was forcibly
disrobed and sentenced to ten years imprisonment; the youngest political
prisoner Han Win Aung who was only 20 years old at the time of his
imprisonment; Kyaw Soe Lin (a.k.a. Kyet Oo). When Mr. Nichols heard
that Han Win Aung, Kyaw Soe lin and Thein Htun Oo had each been
given seven years for their political work, he repeatedly cried
out "Oh, my God!" He was deeply concerned at their heavy
prison terms and was so sympathetic and upset that he wanted to
find out more about them whenever the opportunity availed.
Mr. Nichols promised everyone that when he got out of prison he
would tell the world about the suffering of political prisoners
in Burma. He was never able to fulfil his promise.
One day we saw him taken away by MIS officers in a truck carrying
empty rice pots. As usual, there was a hood over his head. When
he failed to return after a few days we began to get very worried.
Four days later he finally showed up with the MIS officers. We noticed
that his legs were swollen and his face was all puffed up. As soon
as the MIS officers left, he told us that he was forced to stand
for many hours on end while being questioned, and that he was not
allowed to rest. He repeatedly said that he didn't understand why
he was being treated his way even after they had sent him to prison.
The MIS had repeatedly asked for his opinions on the possible actions
of the European Union regarding Burma. They also asked questions
concerning Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's personal life.
We spoke to warden U Tin Win, who was in-charge of medical care
at the Special Prison, and requested that he provide the necessary
care for Mr. Nichols. He explained to us that he couldn't do anything
because the MIS was handling Mr. Nichols's case. He asked us to
understand the situation. But he advised us to give Mr. Nichols
at least four tablets of algae medicine everyday. This had to be
done secretly. With this advice, we approached a warder to buy us
a bottle of algae tablets and we planned to give Mr. Nichols warder
to buy us a bottle of algae tablets and we planned to give Mr. Nichols
this medicine twice a day. But he never had the chance to take our
medicine.
A few days after his return, the MIS took Mr. Nichols away again
with a hood over his head. That was the last time we saw him.
In the short time that he lived in Cell-5 of the Special Prison,
he was never able to spend twenty-four hours straight in his cell.
He was routinely questioned and transferred from one hall to another.
When he was taken out of his cell for the last time, he was suffering
from acute dysentery, vomiting and dizziness. He legs were visibly
swollen and he couldn't walk properly.
Before he was taken away for the last time, Mr. Nichols said a
few farewell words to his cell neighbours as if he was going away
for good. He said to the NLD representative, "I'll lie down
on the floor if they force me to stand and answer questions this
time. I can't take this any more… I think I'll be lucky if
I make it back here one more time. If I don't make it back, please
tell everyone here for me that I owe them for their kind help."
About a week later we heard the tragic news that Mr. Nichols had
died. All that we were told was that he was forced to choose the
path from which there was no way back.
Endnotes
1. The poun-san sitting position is used by the authorities for
inspection of prisoners, counting prisoner numbers or punishment.
The prisoner must sit cross-legged on the floor with his hands on
his knees, back straight and head bowed.
2. The poun-san hall is where new prisoners are taken in order
to teach them the rules of the prison. It is also used for punishment.
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