Our Prisoner of Conscience, Ye Htut
Ye Htut was a student and a member of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Myanmar when he was arrested on September 27, 1995, in Rangoon. Ye Htut was elected Member of Parliament for the Kyaik-to 1 constituency in the Mon State in 1990 elections and was previously detained in late 1990 or early 1991 and released sometime before August 1993.
Military intelligence personnel reportedly arrested Htut in 1995 for corresponding with a person who worked for an opposition journal outside Myanmar. Ye Htut is currently serving his seven-year sentence, which should have ended in 2002, in Thayet prison in the Pha-Sa-Pa-La region.
Ye Htut was exercising his right to free speech as guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to which Myanmar is a signatory nation. We consider him to be a prisoner of conscience who should be released immediately and unconditionally.
Background Information
Surveillance of real or imputed critics of the military government by Military Intelligence (MI) is pervasive in Myanmar, sometimes leading to arrest and imprisonment. Myanmar citizens who meet with foreigners are particularly vulnerable to such surveillance activities. Many former political prisoners have been warned by the authorities not to become involved in politics and are watched by MI.
The State Peace and Development Council (Myanmar's military government) took power following the violent suppression of widespread pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988. Hundreds of people were killed during the military crackdown, with hundreds more arrested and imprisoned in 1989. General elections held in 1990 resulted in an overwhelming victory for the NLD, the political party founded by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. However the then-named State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) refused to hand over power and has continued to rule by decree since 1988. The rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly are severely curtailed in Myanmar, and anyone expressing opposition to the government is at risk of arrest.
Conditions in Myanmar's prisons fall far short of international minimum standards, and torture and ill-treatment is common during the interrogation period and after sentencing.