Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is pleased to inform you that another farmer in Burma who was jailed for complaining against local officials has been released after her sentence was commuted. Daw Khin Win had appealed to a higher court against her conviction for supposedly making false complaints about local officials’ wrongdoing. She has said that she will continue to press her complaints.
As we had reported in our original appeal, 51-year-old Daw Khin Win was jailed on 27 December 2006 for supposedly making false complaints against the corruption and malfeasance of local council officials (UA-054-2007).
After strong publicity to her case, Daw Khin Win was freed on appeal to the Southern Rangoon District Court, at about 6:30pm on March 29. However, the conviction was not overturned by the court; instead, the sentence was reduced from one year to three months, which she had already served.
After getting out from prison, Khin Win said that she would continue to press her complaints against the local council officials. She also commented that although she was treated well while in prison she had seen other prisoners being brutally treated; however, she added that she herself was also been beaten for not following instructions.
On January 25 another jailed farmer, U Tin Nyein, was released after he won an appeal against his imprisonment also for complaining about local authorities (UP-018-2007).
Thank you for your support for this urgent appeal. However, please continue to give support to other similar cases where the victims are still in jail:
U Aye Min and U Win Nyunt sentenced to two years in prison in December 2005 for informing the authorities that local officials had been extorting money under the cover of an agricultural loan programme. Unfortunately, their appeal to the Supreme Court too was rejected (UP-228-2006).
U Tin Kyi, a farmer jailed for supposedly insulting a local government officer (UA-292-2006).
U Aung Pe, a teacher jailed for “illegal tuition” because he hung a t-shirt with a picture of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in his classroom, who has reportedly gone on hunger strike in recent times (UP-029-2007).
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
