The defendants included 11 members of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), including Tin Yu, NLD chairman in Rangoon’s Hlaing Tharyar Township. Each was sentenced by the court in Rangoon’s Insein Prison to seven and half years imprisonment, said prison sources. The 11 were originally charged in May 2007, while staging a peaceful protest in Hlaing Tharyar Township in western Rangoon, carrying posters and placards bearing the slogan: “Free Daw Aung San Suu Kyi!”Tin Yu, 72, was treated in hospital in March after he was struck down by an unknown attacker while walking outside his home in Hlaing Tharyar Township.
At least three members of Burma’s Human Rights Defenders and Promoters group were also sentenced on Thursday, said one source close to the group.
A 21-year-old woman leading member of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, Honey Oo, was sentenced to nine-and-half-years imprisonment on Thursday. Min Han, a strong supporter for pro-democracy activists, was also sentenced to 11 years imprisonment. Burma’s leading satirist, the popular comedian Zarganar, who organized private aid missions to the cyclone-hit Irrawaddy delta in May, appeared before the court on Thursday but no sentence was pronounced, according to his sister-in-law, Ma Nyein.
More than 60 pro-democracy activists have been sentenced so far this week, some of them to 65 years imprisonment.
The severity of the sentences and the secrecy of the trials have sparked international protest. The UN Secretary General’s office, the US, Britain, Canada, parliamentarians from countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and human rights organizations strongly condemned the court action.
This week’s trials began on Monday, with the sentencing of several activists and a young blogger. On Tuesday, about 39 political activists, including five monks, and 14 members of 88 Generation Students group, were handed prison terms of up to 65 years.
Dissident sources say the court intends to bring to trial all those held in Insein Prison for their involvement in the nationwide uprising in September 2007.
At least three members of Burma’s Human Rights Defenders and Promoters group were also sentenced on Thursday, said one source close to the group.
A 21-year-old woman leading member of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, Honey Oo, was sentenced to nine-and-half-years imprisonment on Thursday. Min Han, a strong supporter for pro-democracy activists, was also sentenced to 11 years imprisonment. Burma’s leading satirist, the popular comedian Zarganar, who organized private aid missions to the cyclone-hit Irrawaddy delta in May, appeared before the court on Thursday but no sentence was pronounced, according to his sister-in-law, Ma Nyein.
More than 60 pro-democracy activists have been sentenced so far this week, some of them to 65 years imprisonment.
The severity of the sentences and the secrecy of the trials have sparked international protest. The UN Secretary General’s office, the US, Britain, Canada, parliamentarians from countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and human rights organizations strongly condemned the court action.
This week’s trials began on Monday, with the sentencing of several activists and a young blogger. On Tuesday, about 39 political activists, including five monks, and 14 members of 88 Generation Students group, were handed prison terms of up to 65 years.
Dissident sources say the court intends to bring to trial all those held in Insein Prison for their involvement in the nationwide uprising in September 2007.
UN concerned about harsh prison terms in Myanmar
"The secretary-general is deeply concerned by recent reports of sentences and severe prison terms imposed in connection with the peaceful demonstrations of last year in Myanmar," the U.N. said in a statement.
It reiterated calls for all political prisoners to be released and for all citizens to be allowed to participate freely in the country's political future.
U.N. envoys have visited the country nearly 40 times since 1990, but the world body has had little success in its ongoing efforts to persuade the junta to make democratic reforms.
The junta has scheduled general elections in 2010 as part of a "roadmap to democracy." Opposition groups and other critics dismiss it as a sham meant to perpetuate military rule. The army has held absolute power in the Southeast Asian nation since 1962.
Among those sentenced this week were 14 members of the 88 Generation Students who were at the forefront of a 1988 pro-democracy uprising. They were each given 65 years in prison.
Others sentenced to between two and 20 years included five Buddhist monks, 28-year-old blogger Nay Phone Latt, labor activist Su Su Nway and a poet who was accused of concealing anti-government slogans in his work.
International human rights groups say Myanmar now holds more than 2,100 political prisoners, compared to nearly 1,200 in June 2007, before the pro-democracy demonstrations.
According to U.N. estimates, at least 31 people were killed and thousands of demonstrators detained in last year's protests. Many activists fled the country or went underground.
Myanmar's political prisoners include Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, head of the opposition party, who is under house arrest. She has been in detention for about 13 of the past 19 years.
After Suu Kyi's party won the most seats in 1990 general elections, the military refused to let it take power and instead harassed its members.
It reiterated calls for all political prisoners to be released and for all citizens to be allowed to participate freely in the country's political future.
U.N. envoys have visited the country nearly 40 times since 1990, but the world body has had little success in its ongoing efforts to persuade the junta to make democratic reforms.
The junta has scheduled general elections in 2010 as part of a "roadmap to democracy." Opposition groups and other critics dismiss it as a sham meant to perpetuate military rule. The army has held absolute power in the Southeast Asian nation since 1962.
Among those sentenced this week were 14 members of the 88 Generation Students who were at the forefront of a 1988 pro-democracy uprising. They were each given 65 years in prison.
Others sentenced to between two and 20 years included five Buddhist monks, 28-year-old blogger Nay Phone Latt, labor activist Su Su Nway and a poet who was accused of concealing anti-government slogans in his work.
International human rights groups say Myanmar now holds more than 2,100 political prisoners, compared to nearly 1,200 in June 2007, before the pro-democracy demonstrations.
According to U.N. estimates, at least 31 people were killed and thousands of demonstrators detained in last year's protests. Many activists fled the country or went underground.
Myanmar's political prisoners include Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, head of the opposition party, who is under house arrest. She has been in detention for about 13 of the past 19 years.
After Suu Kyi's party won the most seats in 1990 general elections, the military refused to let it take power and instead harassed its members.
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