Feb 3, 2010 (DVB)–Three monks and two civilians in Burma have been handed lengthy prison sentences, some as much as nine years, for their role in the September 2007 uprising, lawyers say.
After a lengthy trial inside Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison court, the five men were found guilty under the Unlawful Associations Act, as well as possession of foreign currency and illegal border entry.
The three monks, U Waryama, U Yaywata and U Weithuda, all hail from Burma’s central Magwe division. Three other men were also involved in the trial, but have not yet been sentenced.
“The five [sentenced] were on trial without a lawyer so the verdict was quicker for them. They were given sentences from five to nine years,” said Kyaw Ho, lawyer for two of the co-defendants.
“A trial cannot be fair for someone without any lawyer. At least [authorities] should have allowed them to contact their families and hire lawyers.”
Meanwhile, a woman in Rangoon previously sentenced in connection with the 2007 uprising was transferred on 19 January from a Mandalay prison to Kachin state’s remote Myitkyina prison.
Mya Mya Theint, a private computer instructor, was arrested in October 2007 and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment under charges of defaming Buddhist concepts and supporting an “unlawful association”. As well as Mya Mya Theint, 16 other political prisoners have been recently transferred to remote prisons, many along the hostile China-Burma border. Family members complained that they were not told of the transferal.
“I think [authorities] intend to make lives of the families miserable as some old people will be unable to make visit to their loved one. I don’t think I stand a chance to see my son again,” said the 72-year-old mother of Myo Han, who was transferred to Burma’s northeastern Shan state.
Burma’s revered monk community was the target of a government crackdown on the September 2007 uprising anniversary last year. According to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP), 251 monks are currently held in prisons across Burma.
Analysts predict that the ruling junta will step up its intimidation of opposition groups in the run-up to elections this year, rumoured to be in October.
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