On
9 September, some Amnesty International activists received a response
from the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) to their
appeals, informing them that Khet Khet Tin, Saw Hla Aung and Kyaw Moe Htun
had been released from Obo prison in Mandalay – Myanmar’s second
largest city – between 17 and 21 July after completing their prison
sentences. Although the MNHRC did not agree in the letter that they were
unjustly imprisoned, it is still positive that the appeals prompted a
response and dialogue about the case.
They had been sentenced along with Thein Aung Myint
on 23 March to six months’ imprisonment under Article 18 of the
Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law for protesting without
permission. Thein Aung Myint and Saw Hla Aung – both members of the MDCF
– were arrested shortly after they began a candlelight vigil protest
against planned electricity price rises in March 2014. Police also
arrested Kyaw Myo Htun, a bystander who was watching the vigil and
applauding the demonstrators, and Khet Khet Tin, Thein Aung Myint’s
wife, who was standing nearby and told the police not to use excessive
force when she saw them arresting her husband.
Thein
Aung Myint remains in detention in Obo prison in Mandalay, as he
received an additional six-month sentence on 23 April under the same law
for organizing a peaceful protest in Mandalay on 27 October 2014,
calling for an investigation into the death in military custody of
journalist Aung Kyaw Naing (aka Par Gyi). According to the MNHRC he will
complete his sentence on 29 January 2016. The letter from the MNHRC
also states that according to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Thein Aung
Myint is allowed to receive visits from his lawyer and family and has
access to medical care.
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