- Win Tin
Win Tin (born
March 12 ,1929 ) is a politician and former political prisoner inBurma . Arrested in July 1989 because of his senior position in theNational League for Democracy (NLD) and for his writings, he spent 19 years in prison.Win Tin was serving a 20-year sentence on charges including "anti-government propaganda."
One of the reasons for his detention is his attempt to inform the
United Nations of ongoinghuman rights violations in Burmese prisons. At 76 years of age, he is in a poor state of health, exacerbated by his treatment in prison, which has included torture, inadequate access to medical treatment, being held in a cell designed for military dogs, without bedding, and being deprived of food and water for long periods of time.Since the start of 2006 he has not been able to receive visits from the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).In 2001, Win Tin was awarded the
UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize for his efforts to defend and promote and right to freedom of expression. That year, he was also awarded theWorld Association of Newspapers 'Golden Pen of Freedom Award .He was freed on 23 September 2008. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7631395.stm]
References
* [http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA160152005?open&of=ENG-MMR Amnesty International]
* [http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=14726 Reporters Without Borders]
* [http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/72781/ IFEX]
* [http://www.wan-press.org/article4494.html Golden Pen of Freedom]
* [http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=5712&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html UNESCO]
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