A Prominent Woman Activist Jailed For Leading A Peaceful Protest

Burma Campaign UK today urged Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire MP to call in the Burmese ambassador to Britain to question him regarding why people are still being arrested under the right to protest law in Burma. Burma Campaign UK also urged the Foreign Office Minister to demand the military-backed government to secure the immediate release of Naw Ohn Hla and to repeal all the repressive laws which put political prisoners in jail […]

Burma: Human Rights Defender Ms Naw Ohn Hla Sentenced to Two Years in Prison with Hard Labour

On 29 August 2013, human rights defender Ms Naw Ohn Hla was found guilty of disturbing public tranquillity under Section 505(b) of the Burmese Penal Code and sentenced to two years in prison with hard labour. She had been arrested on 13 August 2013 during a peaceful protest. Naw Ohn Hla has been an active human rights defender for decades and has been instrumental in calling for the suspension of the Letpadaung mining project as it is harming the environment […]

Using the Law as a Weapon to Silence Legitimate Protestors

On 13 August, Naw Ohn Hla, a leading woman activist from Rangoon, gathered in Monywa, Sagaing Region, with over 50 local villagers to call for the suspension of the controversial Chinese-backed Letpadaung Copper Mine and to amend the 2008 Constitution. After a tense stand-off, police moved in to arrest Naw Ohn Hla and 9 other protest leaders, forcefully pulling them into the back of police trucks. Naw Ohn Hla was seized so violently that her clothing was partially pulled off. She and the other activists are currently being held in Monywa No. 1 police station.

On 29 August, Naw Ohn Hla was found guilty of disturbing public tranquility under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code and sentenced to two years in prison with hard labor. Her lawyer said she boycotted the hearing because “she does not have faith in the judicial system.” Naw Ohn Hla remains to be tried under Section 18 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law for allegedly holding a protest without permission. She did in fact request official permission prior to the protest, but was refused […]

Detention of Mr Ko Htin Kyaw on Charges of Insulting the State

On 2 August 2013, human rights defender Mr Ko Htin Kyaw was arrested on charges of insulting the state after participating in a peaceful protest against illegal land seizures on 30 July 2013. Three other peaceful protesters, themselves victims of illegal land seizures, were arrested alongside him […]

Myanmar: UN Expert Welcomes Latest Release of Prisoners of Conscience, but Raises Alarm over Ongoing Arrests

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana, has welcomed the latest presidential amnesty on 23 July resulting in the release of 73 prisoners of conscience, while raising concerns over ongoing arrests of activists […]

Burma: Detained Human Rights Defender Mr Kyaw Hla Aung to Appear in Court

On 31 July 2013, human rights defender and community leader Mr Kyaw Hla Aung will appear at the district court in Sittwe to hear charges against him. Kyaw Hla Aung is a human rights defender and community leader who has been working to promote and defend the rights of minority Rohingyas in Arakan state. The human rights defender is a respected community leader having served as a Sittwe district civil court clerk and a former staff member of Medicine Sans Frontiers […]

Objection Against Unlawful Detention of a Human Rights Activist, Bawk Jar Lum Nyoi

Bawk Jar Lum Nyoi, a Kachin nationality human rights activist, was arrested in Mohnyin by police on July 18, 2013 and was going to be brought to Myitkyina today. Bawk Jar was the one who participated in recent study tour mainly organized by the Civil Rights Defenders, seeking to support the legal aid work in Burma, together with 9 lawyers, taking two weeks period from June 22 to July 7, 2003, and studied in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, which constituted a major part of former Yugoslavia, on the issues relevant to human rights and the rule of law […]

Myanmar: Arrests Continue Amid Promise to Release all Prisoners of Conscience

Amnesty International has called into question President Thein Sein’s recent commitment to clear Myanmar’s jails of prisoners of conscience by the end of the year. On the same day he made this promise to delegates at a conference in London, police in Myanmar’s Rakhine state arbitrarily detained a 74-year-old Rohingya human rights defender […]

Burma: Human Rights Defender Mr Wai Phyo Arrested for Organising a Campaign Calling for Freedom to Political Prisoners

On 12 July 2013, human rights defender Mr Wai Phyo was denied bail and will consequently remain in detention until his next court appearance on 25 July 2013.

Wai Phyo is Secretary of Generation Wave, a pro-democracy Burmese youth movement. He was arrested on 10 July for his participation in the “Free Political Prisoners” poster campaign, a nation-wide campaign organised by Generation Wave in July 2011 to call for the release of all political prisoners in Burma […]

Burma: Sentencing of Human Rights Defenders Messrs U Aung Soe, U Maung San and Ko Soe Thu

On 8 July 2013, human rights defenders Messrs U Aung Soe, U Maung San and Ko Soe Thu were handed additional sentences increasing their prison terms to 11 years and six months in the case of U Aung Soe, and to two years and six months in the case of U Maung San and Ko Soe Thu. U Aung Soe is a member of the Yangon People’s Support Network. All three are human rights defenders who were arrested in the context of their peaceful opposition to a copper mine and human rights violations connected to its operation […]