August 2010
3 posts
1 tag
Pannate Tun
Serving 65 years prison term in Bamaw Prison. No family members of lawyers were allowed to be present at his trial.
His mother claims the charges against him were for possessing illegal videos, making speeches and taking part in demonstrations.
1 tag
Hla Myo Naung
Arrested in September 2007. Serving 65 years prison term in Myitkyina Prison.
He suffered eye problems and went blind in the prison due to the lack of medical care.
2 tags
Marky/Kyaw Kyaw Htwe
Serving 65 years prison term in Magwe Prison in central Burma.
On trying to smuggle a letter out of prison Marky was punished by being held in solitary confinement for a month.
The indended receiptent of the letter received a nine year prison sentence.
April 2010
1 post
15 tags
Zayar Thaw - Hip Hop Artist
On March 26, Burma’s popular hip hop artist, Zayar Thaw, celebrated his 29th birthday.
A founding member of the underground youth organisation Generation Wave, he was charged with forming an illegal organisation and sentenced to six years imprisonment in March 2008.
During his imprisonment he is reported to have suffered beatings under interrogation but he remains steadfast in his...
March 2010
2 posts
10 tags
Ant Bwe Kyaw
Leader of the 88 Generation Students movement sentenced to 65 years in 2008.
Currently imprisoned in Katha prison, northern Burma following his role in the Saffron Reveolution.
Not even allowed to accept fresh clothes sent to him, his mother fears the worst. “The regime never talks about releasing political prisoners…I don’t have much hope for my son.”
5 tags
Zaw Htete Ko K8
Member of 88 Generation Students Group, the 26 year-old father of one was sentenced to 11 years in prison with hard labour and is being held in Kyaukpu Prison in Rahkine state, far from his family.
He suffers from high blood pressure and weight loss.
His father has stated that Ko Ko: “never believes in violence. He believes in fighting for human rights in a non violent way. I’m very...
February 2010
5 posts
5 tags
Aung San Suu Kyi
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. General-Secretary of the NLD.
Won a landslide victory (87% of votes) in 1990 elections in Burma and should have been Burma’s Prime Minister. Result dishonoured by the military.
Has spent 14 of the last 20 years under house arrest. Prevented from seeing her late husband when he was terminally ill. Has not seen her two sons for well over a decade.
Charismatic with the...
6 tags
Sai Nyunt Lwin aka Sai Nood
Chairman and General Secretary of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD).
Charged with treason in 2005 along with the leader of the SNLD, Hktun Tun Oo whom they accused of leading a terrorist organisation. He received an 85 year jail sentence.
Currently in Kalay prison suffering from high blood pressure and generally in poor health
5 tags
Mya Aye
Leading member of the 88 Generation Students Group. Voted in 2006 by Burma Digest as The Poltician of the Year.
He was sentenced to 65 years in prison in 2008 and is currently held in Loikaw prison, far from his family.
Reports indicate that he is in poor health, having previously suffered a heart attack. The only daily exercise he is allowed is a one hour walk during which he remains chained by...
Jimmy aka Kyaw Min Yu
Leading member of the 88 Generation Students Group. Former physics student married to another political prisoner Nilar Thein.
Aged 36 sentenced to 65 years imprisonment following the Saffron Revolution. Despite a request to be in the same prison as his wife, he is being held far away from her in Shan state.
Described as having exemplary courage he has not seen his wife or young daughter since...
7 tags
U Tin Oo - 'An Officer and a Gentleman'
Described by Aung San Suu Kyi as an ‘Officer and a Gentleman’ he is a former commander in chief of the Burmese Army.
Sacked because of his popularity with the people, he is now the Vice Chairman of the Naitonal League for Democracy and a key member of the leadership. An important advisor to Aung San Suu Kyi with whom the regime have refused to allow him to meet.
He is currently under...
January 2010
4 posts
11 tags
Min Zeya
A leader of the 88 Generation Student Group and from the Mon ethnic group. A lawyer by training. Tried with 35 members of the 88 Generation Students Group in 2008 for leading protests against the government’s economic mismanagement. Min and his co-defendants were handcuffed at the hearing and their families denied access. Their defence lawyers were subsequently prosecuted. Now aged 50 and...
9 tags
Nilar Thein
Leading member of the 88 Students Group and sentenced, with others in the Group, to 65 years in prison for their part in the Saffron Revolution. She is married with a daughter. Her husband was arrested and Nilar Thein went into hiding. Fearing for her baby daughter’s safety, she sent her to her parents and has not seen her since. She has written the heart-rending “Who will save Burma’s women and...
11 tags
Htay Win Aung aka Pyone Cho
Leader of the 88 Generation Students Group Married in April 2007. He is described as a very kind and generous man and as a joker who makes people laugh. He was arrested a number of times including for the White Sunday campaign; he organised100 people to wear white like prisoners’ uniforms and visited families of political prisoners to support them. His brother was also a political prisoner but...
10 tags
Sandar Min aka Shwee
A chemistry graduate from Rangoon University, her last job was working with a children’s NGO. She has diplomas in Business Law, Applied Psychology, English, Business Management and Banking Technology. Now aged 40, she was sentenced to 65 years with 13 other activists in November 2008 for her part in the Saffron Revolution in 2007; she and other activists led a peaceful march against the...
December 2009
7 posts
6 tags
Ko Ko Gyi - former student leader
In 1988, he was a final year student in International Relations at Rangon University.
He helped found the 88 Generation Students Group, together with activists from the 88 uprising. He has a reputation as a gifted strategist and as one of the most prominent activists. Aged 47 he was sentenced to 65 years in prison in 2008. He is reportedly suffering from poor health and has been very ill in...
6 tags
Htay Kywe Eng - talented musician and poet
“To support the needs of our people, we are prepared to give and lose everything.” Leader of the 88 Generation Students Group. Sentenced with others to 65 years for his part in the Saffron Revolution in 2007. Aged 20 at the time of the 8888 uprising, he was a student of geology and a prominent student leader. A natural leader, charismatic, calm and a good arbitrator in disputes. Creative, a...
9 tags
U Gambira - Saffron Revolution leader
One of the most emblematic young monks. Played a leadership role in the Saffron Revolution in 2007 when monks overturned their rice bowls to excommunicate the regime.
Sentenced to 63 years in prison, 10 years hard labour. In a remote prison, in poor health and denied family visits. He says: “it matters little if my life or lives of my colleagues should be sacrificed on this journey....
8 tags
Su Su Nway - champion of the workforce
An NLD member and a dedicated Labour Activist. Recognised by international human rights awards from Canada and the Czech Republic for her work in bringing forced labour to the attention of the ILO. Aged 38. Imprisoned for 8 years and six months in a jail 700 miles from her home in Rangoon. Recently placed in solitary confinement for three days for singing an independence anthem. In frail...
8 tags
Thin Thin Aye aka Mie Mie
Leader of the 88 Generation Students Group. Worked for the NLD election campaigning in 1990. Took part in the Saffron Revolution in 2007. Sentenced to 65 years with hard labour, the court refused her family permission to attend and subsequently handed down prison sentences to her lawyers for representing her. On sentencing Mie Mie declared “We will never be frightened!” She has a degree in...
8 tags
Zarganar - sentenced to 35 years
Comedian, film actor and director from an intellectual and political family.
Zarganar is a nickname meaning “Tweezers.” A qualified dentist, he was involved in the 8888 uprising and Saffron Revolution in 2007.
Aged 48 and in deteriorating health, he was sentenced to 35 years for his involvement in cyclone relief efforts. He is incarcerated in tiny cell in a prison many miles from his family who...
10 tags
Min Ko Naing - 'nobody can hide from justice'
Talented artist, poet and satirist. Co-founder and spokesperson of the 88 Generation of Students Group. Sentenced with other 88 Generation Group members to over 65 years in prison. He is 46 and in failing health. He has been held in solitary confinement and is suspected to have been tortured. At his trial he declared: “You can sentence us to a thousand years in prison for our political...
November 2009
1 post
12 tags
Khun Htun Oo - member of Burmese parliament
Khun Htun Oo Studied law and is an elected member of the Burmese Parliament. Most senior political representative of the Shan,Burma’s largest ethnic minority. Sentenced to 93 years in prison in 2005. Jailed in Kachin state far from his family and where conditions are said to be very harsh. Aged 65 he has a number of medical conditions including diabetes and his health is said to be deteriorating....