Ex-Myanmar monk protest leader jailed for 6 months

AFP, yangon: A former leader of Myanmar's 2007 monk protests against the then-ruling junta said Tuesday he had been sentenced to six months in prison with hard labour on an immigration charge, in a case slammed by rights groups as politically motivated.
Nyi Nyi Lwin, who was previously known by the clerical name Gambira, told AFP he was "so disappointed" with the ruling, relating to a 2013 incident when he travelled to neighbouring Thailand for treatment for trauma suffered during years as a political prisoner.
"I have been given a six month sentence with hard labour," he told AFP by telephone after the hearing at a court in the Maha Aung Myay area of Mandalay. The former monk was among hundreds freed in amnesties in 2012 by the quasi-civilian government that replaced outright military rule a year earlier.
He had been serving a 68-year prison term for his prominent role in monk-led demonstrations five years earlier, known as the "Saffron Revolution", that were brutally crushed by the army. Nyi Nyi Lwin has been repeatedly rearrested, while his family have raised concerns about his mental health, which suffered during years of detention.

 

Ex-Myanmar monk protest leader jailed for 6 months

AFP, yangon: A former leader of Myanmars 2007 monk protests against the then-ruling junta said Tuesday he had been sentenced to six months in prison with hard labour on an immigration charge, in a case slammed by rights groups as politically motivated. Nyi Nyi Lwin, who was previously known by the clerical name Gambira, told AFP he was so disappointed with the ruling, relating to a 2013 incident when he travelled to neighbouring Thailand for treatment for trauma suffered during years as a political prisoner. I have been given a six month sentence with hard labour, he told AFP by telephone after the hearing at a court in the Maha Aung Myay area of Mandalay. The former monk was among hundreds freed in amnesties in 2012 by the quasi-civilian government that replaced outright military rule a year earlier. He had been serving a 68-year prison term for his prominent role in monk-led demonstrations five years earlier, known as the Saffron Revolution, that were brutally crushed by the army. Nyi Nyi Lwin has been repeatedly rearrested, while his family have raised concerns about his mental health, which suffered during years of detention.