London-based Amnesty International called on Burma’s military government to release political prisoner and researcher Aung Htun from Insein Prison in Rangoon in a letter sent to Burmese authorities on Thursday.
The writer is known to be suffering from asthma, and the letter said the group’s plea for release was motivated by humanitarian considerations rather than politics.
“Aung Htun is currently suffering from asthma, hemorrhoids and arthritis in all four limbs, but he hasn’t received any effective medical treatment in the prison,” said Tin Hlaing, a spokesperson for the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) in Mae Sot. “But authorities have allowed his family to visit him in prison.”
About 50 members of Amnesty International collaborated on the letter to alert Burma to the fact that Aung Htun was detained only because of his nonviolent political activism, according to the letter.
“We are particularly concerned about his health, as he is suffering as a result of being tortured in 1998,” the letter said.
Aung Htun was arrested February 1998 and sentenced to 17 years for distributing his book in Burmese, 88 Years History of Burmese Students’ Movements.
The book includes historical details of the Rangoon University Students Union constitution, the All Burma Federation of Student Unions constitution and information on the relationships between the groups, with both inter- and intra- organizational documents in Burmese and English version.
According to AAPP, six political prisoners died in the last year, while 80 are currently suffering form serious disease. Many prisoners with health conditions receive inadequate or no medical care, according to the group. There are over 1,100 political prisoners currently in detention in Burma.
Aung Tun was awarded a Hellman/Hammett grant in 1999 and was made an honorary member of the PEN centers in Norway, Australia and Canada.
The writer is known to be suffering from asthma, and the letter said the group’s plea for release was motivated by humanitarian considerations rather than politics.
“Aung Htun is currently suffering from asthma, hemorrhoids and arthritis in all four limbs, but he hasn’t received any effective medical treatment in the prison,” said Tin Hlaing, a spokesperson for the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) in Mae Sot. “But authorities have allowed his family to visit him in prison.”
About 50 members of Amnesty International collaborated on the letter to alert Burma to the fact that Aung Htun was detained only because of his nonviolent political activism, according to the letter.
“We are particularly concerned about his health, as he is suffering as a result of being tortured in 1998,” the letter said.
Aung Htun was arrested February 1998 and sentenced to 17 years for distributing his book in Burmese, 88 Years History of Burmese Students’ Movements.
The book includes historical details of the Rangoon University Students Union constitution, the All Burma Federation of Student Unions constitution and information on the relationships between the groups, with both inter- and intra- organizational documents in Burmese and English version.
According to AAPP, six political prisoners died in the last year, while 80 are currently suffering form serious disease. Many prisoners with health conditions receive inadequate or no medical care, according to the group. There are over 1,100 political prisoners currently in detention in Burma.
Aung Tun was awarded a Hellman/Hammett grant in 1999 and was made an honorary member of the PEN centers in Norway, Australia and Canada.
