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BURMA: Inexplicable continued imprisonment of innocent man for over 22 years

November 4, 2011

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-227-2011

4 November 2011
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BURMA: Inexplicable continued imprisonment of innocent man for over 22 years

ISSUES: Administration of justice, arbitrary arrest and detention
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AHRC BURMESE-LANGUAGE BLOG
http://burma.blog.humanrights.asia

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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been alerted to the case of a man who has been held in prison in Burma for over 22 years for a crime that he did not commit. Than Zaw was arrested with a number of other men and accused of a bombing in 1989. He was sentenced to death by a military tribunal in which he had no rights to represent himself, but later the sentence was reduced to life imprisonment. Even though the authorities subsequently captured the person alleged to be the real bomber, and he was also imprisoned, neither Than Zaw nor the other accused were released. In October, the other remaining accused behind bars was finally let out of jail; however, inexplicably Than Zaw was not also freed.

CASE NARRATIVE:

AHRC-UAC-227-2011-01.jpg

At around 4am on 13 July 1989 military intelligence personnel forced their way into the residence of Than Zaw in a town not far from Rangoon on the pretext of checking the household register against persons in attendance, and then took him into custody. They then went to detain another man, Moe Kyaw Thu, whom Than Zaw knew only vaguely, and then took them to an interrogation centre where they accused the two of involvement in a bombing of a petroleum refinery. They tortured both men repeatedly to force them to confess. At the end of the month, the two men and a third, Nyi Nyi Oo, were brought before a military tribunal, which had been set up under martial law that was in force in Rangoon at the time, and the tribunal sentenced them to death without permitting any of them a fair hearing or defence. The state media published a news conference by the head of military intelligence that the accused had confessed and that they were part of a plot by the National League for Democracy to blow up the refinery.

In September 1989, state media announced the arrest in August of a group of men allegedly belonging to an insurgent group who had been behind the bombings. Later, one of these reportedly admitted to the refinery bombing. He also was imprisoned; yet, the three men were not released and instead they were put on trial again with another group of NLD members, accused of high treason, and were given a life sentence.

After about a year in the central prison, Than Zaw was accused of involvement in an inmates' protest, following the refusal of the military to hand over power to the NLD, which had won a national election by a landslide. The prison authorities called in the army and riot police, which put down the protest with heavy violence. Subsequently, Than Zaw was transferred to Thayet Prison in the central region of Burma.

Since that time, the other accused in the case, including the alleged actual bomber, have been released from prison. The last of these, Nyi Nyi Oo, was freed in the October 12 release of over 6000 prisoners, including over two hundred prisoners of conscience. No reason has been given as to why Than Zaw has not also been freed, since the cases brought against him were the same as those against Nyi Nyi Oo.

Further details of the case are in the sample letter below.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

A profile of Than Zaw's case, including details of torture and other issues, dated 2009 is available on the website of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma): www.aappb.org/bio_pdf/Thant_Zaw_aka_Than_Zaw_14Dec09.pdf .

The AHRC issued a statement on the recent release of detainees, available here: http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-150-2011.

For more commentary on these and other human rights issues in Burma, visit the Burma page on the new AHRC website: http://www.humanrights.asia/countries/burma.

The AHRC Burmese-language blog is also updated constantly for Burmese-language readers, and covers the contents of urgent appeal cases, related news, and special analysis pieces.

REQUESTED ACTION:
Please write to the persons listed below to call for the immediate release of Than Zaw from prison. Please note that for the purposes of the letter Burma is referred to by its official name, Myanmar.

Please be informed that the AHRC is writing separate letters to the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, the UN Working Group on arbitrary detention, and to the regional human rights office for Southeast Asia calling for interventions into this case.

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear ___________,

MYANMAR: Innocent man inexplicably detained for over 22 years after other accused freed

Details of detainee: Than Zaw, a.k.a. Thant Zaw, aged approx. 43, former National League for Democracy youth member and organizer in Thanlyin Township, Yangon Region, Myanmar

Details of arrest: 4am, 13 July 1989, at residence in Thanlyin, by members of military intelligence who took detainee to Aungthapyay Interrogation Centre in Yangon

Details of charges and imprisonment: Convicted of murder under section 302(1)(b) (27 July 1989) and high treason under section 122(1) (5 September 1989) of the Penal Code by Military Tribunal No. 1 established under Yangon Command Martial Law Order No. 2/89 (21 July 1989), comprising of Lt-Col. Aung Nyunt (Serial No. BC/1121), chairman; and, Maj. Khin Kyaw (Serial No. BC/10473), and Lt-Cmdr. Than Htaik (Serial No. BN /3271), sentenced to death and 20 years' imprisonment respectively; death sentence commuted to 20 years of imprisonment and 20 years reduced to 10 years under Order No. 1/93 (1 January 1993), making total sentence 30 years, out of which detainee has served over 22 years

I am writing to you to call for the immediate release from prison of a man detained for over 22 years for a crime that he did not commit. Although Than Zaw's co-accused have been freed, as has a man who reportedly admitted to having committed the crime, inexplicably he is still being detained in Thayet Prison, Magway Region, where he has been kept for almost half of his lifetime.

Briefly, I am informed that at on 13 July 1989 military intelligence personnel forced their way into the Thanlyin residence of Than Zaw on the pretext of checking the household register, and then took him into custody. They then went to detain another man, Moe Kyaw Thu, whom Than Zaw knew only vaguely, and then took them to an interrogation centre where they accused the two of involvement in a bombing of the petroleum refinery in Thanlyin. They tortured both men repeatedly to force them to confess. At the end of the month, the two men and a third, Nyi Nyi Oo, were brought before Military Tribunal No. 1, which sentenced them to death without permitting any of them a fair hearing or defence with legal counsel. The state media published a news conference by the head of military intelligence that the accused had confessed and that they were part of a plot by the National League for Democracy to blow up the refinery.

In September 1989, state media announced the arrest in August of a group of men allegedly belonging to an insurgent group who had been behind the bombings. Later, one of these, named Ko Ko Naing, reportedly admitted to the refinery bombing. He also was imprisoned; yet, the three originally accused men were not released and instead they were put on trial again with another group of NLD members, accused of high treason, and were this time given a life sentence.

Than Zaw was held at the Insein Central Prison, but on 25 September 1990 was accused of involvement in an inmates' protest. The prison authorities called in the army and riot police, who put down the protest with heavy violence, and he was transferred to Thayet the next day.

Since that time, the other accused in the case, including the alleged actual bomber, have been released from prison. The last of these, Nyi Nyi Oo, was freed in the 12 October 2011 release of 6359 prisoners.

I can see no reason as to why Than Zaw was not also freed along with Nyi Nyi Oo, since the cases brought against him were the same as those against Nyi Nyi Oo, and since both men have throughout maintained their innocence and pointed to the fact that an actual alleged culprit was later caught for the crime. In light of the apparent efforts by the NLD and the current government of Myanmar to have some kind of reconciliation, and given that Than Zaw was apparently imprisoned as a part of a program against the NLD, it strikes me that now is precisely the time that he ought to be freed. In this regard, I note in particular the October 10 open letter from the newly formed Myanmar National Human Rights Commission to the national president, urging that prisoners of conscience be released.

I also take this opportunity to call for the International Committee of the Red Cross to be given full access to Myanmar's jails in accordance with its international mandate without further delay. I believe that reestablishing this arrangement with the ICRC is a minimum condition that the government of Myanmar must meet before its claims to be making political and other changes for the betterment of Myanmar can be taken seriously.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. U Thein Sein
President of Myanmar
President Office
Office No.18
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR

2. U Hla Min
Minister for Home Affairs
Ministry of Home Affairs
Office No. 10
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel: +95 67 412 079/ 549 393/ 549 663
Fax: +95 67 412 439

3. U Tun Tun Oo
Chief Justice
Office of the Supreme Court
Office No. 24
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel: + 95 67 404 080/ 071/ 078/ 067 or + 95 1 372 145
Fax: + 95 67 404 059

4. Dr. Tun Shin
Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
Office No. 25
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel: +95 67 404 088/ 090/ 092/ 094/ 097
Fax: +95 67 404 146/ 106

5. U Win Mra
Chairman
Myanmar National Human Rights Commission
27 Pyay Road
Hlaing Township
Yangon
MYANMAR


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) (ua@ahrc.asia)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-227-2011
Countries :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.