amnesty international REPUBLIC OF MYANMAR (BURMA) Prisoner of Conscience Ko Aye Aung July 2007 SUMMARY Ko Aye Aung

Ko Aye Aung is a student who was arrested on 14th September 1998 at Yangon (Rangoon). He is known to have been a second year Physics student at the Distance Education University (Dagon University), and is believed to have been a leading member of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU). This organisation has been at the forefront of peaceful anti-government protests since 1988.

Ko Aye Aung was arrested with Myo Min Zaw, who was given a sentence of 52 years. Ko Aye Aung was intitially given a sentence of 14 years imprisonment, but this has subsequently been extended to 24 years. He is believed to have been tortured. A report in May 2003 confirmed that he is still being held at Kalay Prison, Sagaing Province, with eight other political prisoners, and is suffering from malaria and, possibly, typhoid. His exercise period has been moved to the hottest time of day, and he is being denied access to religious books.

In March 2005 it was reported that his sentence had been increased to 45 years. He is now over 30 years old. The latest description of his arrest as subsequent treatment is as follows:-

Ko Aye Aung's basic "crime" seems to have been distributing leaflets and taking part in small scale peaceful demonstrations in Yangon (Rangoon) largely concerned with education policies and practices.

Ko Aye Aung was arrested with Myo Min Zaw outside a tea shop in Yangon and they are both reported to have been beaten at the time of their arrest and during interrogation. They and others were reportedly tried in a group of 50 students, in a closed trial for ten days in Insein prison, the main prison where political prisoners are held in Yangon. They are believed not to have had access to lawyers, and when they asked prison officials and the presiding judge for a lawyer the request was ignored. The prisoners were denied the right to speak in their own defence. The fairness of the trial was further compromised by the authorities having given a press conference shortly after their arrest, in which the authorities claimed that the demonstrations were intended to create unrest. It was also claimed that Ko Aye Aung, Myo Min Htike, Myo Min Zaw and Tun Myint Aung had distributed leaflets and organised demonstrations. They were given the maximum sentences possible under security legislation and the Burmese laws on publication which, for example, require that leaflets must be approved by the official censor. In common with other cases of political prisoners their sentences have been applied cumulatively resulting in very long terms of imprisonment. Scores of other students were given sentences ranging from seven to twenty years.

There is also a report that Ko Aye Aung may have gone on hunger strike in 2002 with another prisoner, Thet Win Aung. They were protesting about the lack of medical treatment and exceptionally poor diet in Kalay (also called Kale) Prison, where malaria is endemic. Kalay is near the northwestern frontier of Burma with India and is nearly 600 miles from Rangoon (Yangon). It seems that Ko Aye Aung may have been transferred to Khamti prison for a while. This is even further away from his family home in Yangon. (In Burma political prisoners normally have to rely on visits from family for food and medicines. The authorities can thereby increase the severity of prison conditions by placing prisoners in prisons remote from their families.) Thet Win Aung was subsequently transferred to Mandalay Prison.

In late 2005 it was reported that Ko Aue Aung was back in Kalay (Kale) prison in north west Burma, in the region known as Sagaing Division. He was reported as suffering from malaria and typhoid. He has also been denied access to religious books and, at one stage at least, had his exercise period moved to the hottest time of day, thereby increasing his suffering.

In January 2006 the website of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) quoted a Press Release by the Democratic Voice of Burma which stated:

"...Aye Aung had been suffering from severe stomach ache due to gastric diseases. As the result of severe cold weather and lack of proper medical cares, Aye Aung's face is swollen and he also has a severe form of back pain according to his mother Mya Yi who went to see him at the prison on 19th January."

Amnesty International considers Ko Aye Aung to be a Prisoner of Conscience detained solely because of the non-violent expression of his beliefs. He has not used or advocated violence. Amnesty International calls for his immediate and unconditional release.

Senior General Than Shwe
Chairman
State Peace and Development Council
c/o Ministry of Defence
Naypyitaw
Union of Myanmar

U Aye Maung
Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
Office No 25
Naypyitaw
Union of Myanmar

Brigadier General Khin Yi
Director General
Myanmar Police Force
Naypyitaw
Union of Myanmar

Click here for a sample letter to one of the ministers in the current government of Myanmar. The sample letter is changed every month and, where appropriate, makes topical references to such items as recent discussions at the United Nations about Burma/Myanmar. The letter is a PDF file (of around 100K) which you can download and print. It includes a small photograph of Ko Aye Aung, believed to be taken in 1998, with his name in Burmese writing. The Burmese writing also says "Prisoner of Conscience". Feel free to download one of these letters every month to sign and send and, thereby, help to keep up a constant stream of letters to the Burmese authorities about Ko Aye Aung.

The campaign to free Ko Aye Aung is truly international, with groups working on this case in Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States.

If you are interested to receive more details of this case, and suggestions for action to help bring about the release of Ko Aye Aung from prison then please e-mail your request.

If you are interested in reports by Amnesty International on Myanmar (Burma) generally then there is a wide selection of regularly updated and detailed reports on the International Section's Burma pages. There is also a separate site for Burma campaign issues generally.