Early in 2015 a new law was introduced in Myanmar that limited a student’s academic freedom. Phyoe Phyoe and her colleagues decided to show their disagreement by organising a peaceful protest. More groups from across the country joined the protest in Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city.
However as marchers converged into the city they were blocked by police, leading to a stand-off that lasted eight days. The stand-off only came to an end when police forcibly dispersed the students and used batons to stop advancing protesters. As a result many of the students who were participating in this largely peaceful event were injured.
They arrested Phyoe Phyoe Aung and more than a hundred other students and charged them with questionable criminal offences. Many of those arrested have been in prison ever since - some held in solitary confinement, with limited access to lawyers and in poor prison conditions.
In mid February this year, Phyoe Phyoe Aung was charged with a range of offences in connection with the protest, each one carrying an additional six months imprisonment. She now faces up to 13 years in jail.
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More Information
- March 24, 2016: Beaten, Arrested & Facing a Decade Behind Bars, Amnesty International USA
