The Burmese government, military, and police use torture and severe beatings to interrogate, intimidate, and discriminate against rural protestors, ethnic civilians, and prisoners. Last month, the Burmese military tortured a 16-yr-old Kachin boy who was coming home from a soccer game. The military also tortured ten male villagers in Nhka Ga village, northern Kachin State. The men were tied up, hung from their feet, and beaten inside their church. Two of the villagers, a church deacon and a young man, were killed, and their bodies were dumped alongside a road; others, including the village’s pastor, are in critical condition but are being held as hostages and denied medical care. Instances of torture in Kachin State have increased since August – beating and killing villagers is how the military prepared for the early October peace talks between the Kachin and the government, which unsurprisingly did not lead to a ceasefire agreement.