Dear friends,
In an unusual turn of events, a man who was jailed for angrily satirising state media in Burma has been released on bail paid by two strangers who are suspected to have government connections. U Thein Zan is now at home with his family but must go to court in April.
UPDATED INFORMATION:
As the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) reported previously, Thein Zan was arrested on 5 March 2007 for defacing state propaganda articles and pasting them to the fence of his suburban Rangoon house (UA-078-2007). He had been denied bail by the court.
According to the latest information obtained through a number of sources, at about 1pm yesterday, March 28, two men came to Thein Zan’s house and said that they were businessmen who wanted to pay for his bail. The two men, who the family had never seen before and who identified themselves only as U Htwe Myint and U Kyi Maung, went with his wife and two sons to the township offices, where they submitted guarantees on Thein Zan’s behalf for one million Burmese kyat (USD 800). When his family asked which group they were with, they said only that they were “with the people”. The bail application was accepted, even though the two men did not present any documentary evidence of assets to support the application, such as land title deeds or business certificates.
At about 5pm Thein Zan was called by the jailors at the central Insein Prison, and at 7pm he was released. In an interview with the Democratic Voice of Burma radio service (broadcasting from Norway) he said that he also did not know who had paid the bail or why.
The case is scheduled to resume in the court again on April 2.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
The case is reminiscent of that of U Ohn Myint and Ko Khin Zaw, who in 2004 went to jail for refusing to pay a fine over legal action against them for taking forced labour complaints to the courts (UA-064-2004). The two were released after two unidentified men, believed to be intelligence officers, came and paid the fines on their behalf. Persons familiar with this case also suspect that the two men are somehow connected with the local council authorities or quasi-government agencies.
For further details, including sample letter and other links, please refer to the original appeal.
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
