No Political Prisoner Left Behind

Despite some welcome political change in Burma, including the release of high profile political prisoners, hundreds of political prisoners remain in jail.

The international community must not forget those political prisoners still left behind in Burma’s jails.

Click here to take action

Free Political Prisoners

In an effort to get international sanctions lifted, Burma’s military-backed government has started to release political prisoners. However, hundreds of political prisoners remain in jail.

Please take action now and urge Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire MP to demand the immediate release of all political prisoners.

Click here to take action

Action

Free Brang Shawng

Click here to take action

Action

Free Tun Aung

Click here to take action

Action

Free Brang Yung and Lahpai Gam

Click here to take action

Action

U Gambira (aka Nyi Nyi Aung)

Click here to take action

Action

Free Mading Zau Bawk

Click here to take action

Action

Myint Soe

Click here to take action

Reports

The Darkness We See

A report by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), exposing the true scale of torture in Burma’s prisons.

More...

Eight Seconds of Silence

A report by AAPP which details the deaths of 127 Burmese Democracy Activists in custody.

More...

The future in the Dark

New report by the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (Burma) and the US Campaign for Burma documents the huge increase in number of Political Prisoners currently detained in Burma

More...

SPDC constitution

SPDC constitution which enshrines military rule, giving 25 percent of the seats to the military, and also gives the military effective veto power over decisions made by Parliament. Download the constitution in English here.

More...

Burma’s Forgotten Prisoners

A report by Human Rights Watch documenting dozens of prominent political activists, Buddhist monks, labor activists, journalists, and artists arrested since peaceful political protests in 2007 and sentenced to draconian prison terms after unfair trials.

More...

The Role of political prisoners in the national reconciliation process

Report by The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma).

This report sets out the vitally important role of Burma’s political prisoners in a process of national reconciliation, leading to democratic transition. A genuine, inclusive process of national reconciliation is urgently needed to resolve the current conflicts and make progress towards…

More...

Repression to silence dissent

Report by Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma)

The widespread and unlawful detention of political activists has a significant impact on Burma’s political environment in two main ways.

Firstly, most of the prominent activists are removed from public or political life. Almost all of the 88 Generation student movement…

More...

Release Over 2200 Political Prisoners Now!

This report, released by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners on behalf of 12 groups working inside Burma, details the situation of Burma’s more than 2200 political prisoners languishing behind bars. Not only does the report highlight the political prisoner situation, but it goes further, emphasizing the importance of the…

More...

Political Prisoners in Burma – A Crime Against Humanity

Burma Briefing No. 10

In the past two years there has been an increasing trend to look at Burma through the lens of international law, rather than just as a civil liberties or human rights issue. This approach gained momentum in March 2010, when the United Nations Special Rapporteur on…

More...

Political Prisoner Releases in Burma

Updated 10 January 2012

Burma Briefing No. 16

As speculation mounts that the government in Burma is about to release some political prisoners, this briefing looks at the history of political prisoner releases in Burma.

The mass release of prisoners is a regular event in Burma and happens every…

More...

Extreme Measures: Torture and Ill Treatment in Burma since the 2010 Elections

This report by The Network for Human Rights Documentation – Burma (ND-Burma) documents the Government of Burma’s use of torture and ill treatment against its own people since the November 2010 elections.

“The international community has been applauding the government for recent gestures towards change; essentially they are praising…

More...

Burma’s Forgotten Political Prisoners

Burma Briefing No. 25

The international community is normalising relations, praising reforms and lifting pressure on Burma despite the fact that the military-backed government keeps hundreds of political prisoners in jail.

The briefing contains case studies of 6 political prisoners who were arbitrarily arrested by the military-backed government in Burma.

More...

image

Shwe Htoo

Shwe Htoo (aka) Aung Zeya is one of the remaining political prisoners in Burma who was sent to prison for 42 years in 1998. Shwe Htoo is a retired teacher and when he was arrested, he was charged with 3 different counts, including under the High Treason Act 124 (A), for his role in mobilizing people to speak out for better system in the country.

Please take action for the release of Shwe Htoo and the remaining political prisoners in Burma.

1.Email Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire, urging the UK government to take action to ensure the immediate release of all political prisoners.

2.You can also write a letter to Shwe Htoo to express your solidarity. Please write to:

Shwe Htoo
C/O The Governor of Taung Lay Lone Prison
Taung Lay Lone Prison
Taunggyi Town
Shan State
Myanmar
Airmail Letter postal cost: From United Kingdom to Myanmar (Burma) will cost £1.10.



Shwe Htoo is a 67-year-old retired teacher from Mandalay whose father was a retired colonel from the army.  He was first arrested in 1988 and sentenced to 3 years in prison for his involvement in the 1988 uprising. At that time he was charged under the State Emergency and Provision Act 5(j) and he served his full prison sentence.

In 1998, Shwe Htoo and other activists were arrested and accused of mobilizing people to organise an uprising similar to 1988. Military Intelligence carried out a search of Shwe Htoo’s house and found a broken air gun given by his father as a present when he was in school. No proper trial was held, only a closed trial inside Insein Prison. Although the air gun was broken and unusable, Shwe Htoo was charged under Section 5 of the Explosive Act and sentenced to 14 years in prison. Later he was also charged under the Unlawful Association Act 17(1) and the High Treason Act 124(A) and sentenced altogether to 42 years in prison.

He was first put in Oh Bo prison in Mandalay and later transferred to Taung Lay Lone Prison in Shan State. Although his friends were released from prisons under different amnesties over the years, he still remains in prison. According to the latest news from his family, he is unwell and suffering from high blood pressure and gastric problems.

Shwe Htoo is one of the innocent political prisoners who were sentenced to long years in prison for their beliefs in the betterment of the country.

Please take action for the release of Shwe Htoo and the remaining political prisoners in Burma.

Please take action for the release of Shwe Htoo and the remaining political prisoners in Burma.

1.Email Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire, urging the UK government to take action to ensure the immediate release of all political prisoners.

2.You can also write a letter to Shwe Htoo to express your solidarity:

Shwe Htoo
C/O The Governor of Taung Lay Lone Prison
Taung Lay Lone Prison
Taunggyi Town
Shan State
Myanmar

 

No Political Prisoner Left Behind

There are still hundreds of political prisoners remain in jail.

Take action to free other political prisoners in Burma.





Burma Campaign UK works for Human Rights, Democracy and Development in Burma

Burma Campaign UK, 28 Charles Square, London, N1 6HT. | Telephone: +44 (0)20 7324 4710. | Get in touch

Materials on this website are provided under a Creative Commons License. For more details click here. | Privacy and Cookies Policy | Design | Build