The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is writing this special appeal to you out of grave concern that a person currently being detained in Myanmar is going blind as a result of being denied urgently needed medical treatment.
The detainee in question is U Than Lwin, 70, who was an elected member of parliament (National League for Democracy) of Mettaya Township, Mandalay Division. U Than Lwin was taken into custody along with other members of his political party in the aftermath of the events of last September, and has since been held without charge, currently in Ohbo Prison, Mandalay Division.
On 15 June 2007, an unidentified man hit U Than Lwin in the face with knuckledusters, causing him serious injuries. He was admitted to Mandalay General Hospital the next day and was kept there for treatment over some weeks. Although he was later discharged from hospital, he has needed to continue to receive treatment for the injuries.
However, we are gravely concerned that since he has been held in custody, U Than Lwin has not been able to obtain medical treatment. As a result, his eyesight has steadily worsened. It is now reported that he has gone completely blind in his left eye and that his right eye may soon also lose all sight.
Without regards to any other factors, we sincerely request you to allow U Than Lwin to get the urgent medical treatment that he needs to prevent him from going completely blind. We are making this request on strictly humanitarian and compassionate grounds, for the sake of the health and wellbeing of an elderly citizen. We believe that your prompt intervention will allow for U Than Lwin to obtain the assistance that he needs without further delay to save what remains of his eyesight.
We trust that you will give this request your highest consideration and thank you for your attention to this matter.
Yours sincerely
Basil Fernando
Executive Director
Cc:
1. Lt-Gen. Thein Sein, Prime Minister, Myanmar
2. U Zaw Win, Director General, Myanmar Correctional Department
3. U Aye Maung, Attorney General, Myanmar
4. Patrick Vial, Head of Delegation, ICRC, Myanmar
5. Professor Ibrahim Gambari, UN Undersecretary General for Political Affairs
6. Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar
7. Chairperson, UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
8. Professor Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on torture
9. Hina Jilani, UN Special Representative on human rights defenders
10. Homayoun Alizadeh, Regional Representative for Asia-Pacific of OHCHR
11. Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary General, ASEAN
