AAPP announces Dr Aye Maung and Wai Hun Aung as political prisoners

By Nay Yaung Min (Sittwe) 22 Mar 2019

Nay Yaung Min (Sittwe)/ DMG

March 22, Sittwe

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) on Friday announced that it classified Dr Aye Maung and Wai Hun Aung, who have been sentenced 20 years imprisonment, as political prisoners.

The AAPP and the Former Political Prisoners Society (FPPS) held a joint seminar for deciding the correct definition for what a political prisoner is in 2013 and 2014. About 50 people attended the seminar. Attendees included some leaders from the National League for Democracy (NLD), political parties, legal experts, organizations working for political prisoners’ affairs and independents.  

The seminar came out with the following definition of what constitutes being a political prisoner.  “Anyone who is arrested, detained, or imprisoned for political reasons under political charges or wrongfully under criminal and civil charges because of his or her perceived or known active role, perceived or known supporting role, or associated with activities promoting freedom, justice, equality, human rights, and civil and political rights, including ethnic rights.

Anyone who is arrested, detained, or imprisoned because of his or her perceived or known active role, perceived or known supporting role, or in association with political activities  (including armed resistance but excluding terrorists activities), in forming organizations, both individually and collectively, making public speeches, expressing beliefs, organizing or initiating movements through writing, publishing, or distributing documents, or participating in peaceful demonstrations to express dissent and denunciation against the stature and activities of both the Union and state level executive, legislative, judicial, or other administrative bodies established under the constitution or under any previously existing law, is also included in the definition. According to the seminar.

The Committee for Scrutinizing the Remaining Political Prisoners under the President U Thein Sein government in 2013 could not define what a political prisoner is in clear details, but it generally defined that political prisoners are anyone who was sentenced in relation to political actions, the announcement said.

Dr Myo Nyunt, spokesperson for the National League for Democracy, recently told the RFA that the government would not recognize Dr Aye Maung as a political prisoner because he was imprisoned for incitement to disintegrate the Union.

Dr Aye Maung and author Wai Hun Aung were sentenced two years imprisonment for incitement and 20 years imprisonment for high treason, but were ordered to serve them concurrently.