Sudden and Untimely Death of Prominent Political Prisoner Thet Win Aung
For Immediate Release: October 17, 2006
Even though the United Nations and many human rights organizations, such as
Amnesty International and the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners
(Burma), has repeatedly urged the Burmese military regime to release Thet Win
Aung, a young student activist who has been imprisoned since 1998, on the
humanitarian grounds due to his deteriorating health condition, these requests
fell on deaf ears.
And, now, it is too late.
Sadly, the AAPP learned yesterday evening that Thet Win Aung passed away on
October 16, 2006 at Mandalay prison. The police Special Branch, an intelligence
wing of the regime’s Ministry of Home Affairs, informed his parents about his
death without giving a reason for the death of this 34-years young man.
The AAPP believes his death was not due to natural causes. We believe that like
the other more than one hundred political prisoners who have died in Burma’s
prisons, he was systematically killed by the military regime. The reasoning for
our belief is as follows:
(1) Thet Win Aung was tortured very brutally during interrogation when he was
arrested in October 1998 by Military Intelligence.
(2) After interrogation, a military court sentenced him to an unusually
long-term imprisonment of 60 years with hard labor. This unusually long-term
imprisonment placed heavy pressure on him and made him depressed and he thus
suffered from mental illness.
(3) The authorities transferred him to Kale prison in Sagaing Division, which is
over 700 miles away from his family home in the capital, Rangoon. Due to the
long travel distance and financial difficulties, his family could not make
regular visits to the prison. He could only see his parents once every five or
six months, and sometimes it would be more than a year between visits.
(4) At Kale prison, he was contracted malaria, but he did not receive proper
medical treatment.
(5) As a result, he further suffered from mental illness.
(6) Even though he was transferred from Kale prison to Mandalay prison in
Mandalay Division, he was still denied proper medical treatment. Since then, he
was not able to walk by himself.
(7) Mandalay prison is 500 miles away from his family. Therefore, his family
could not visit him regularly and they were again unable to provide sufficient
medicine and food for him. The prison authorities did not provide enough
nutritious food.
(8) No medical specialist or medicines were made available to cure him before
his condition worsened.
(9) On October 30, 2006, his elder brother Htay Win Aung (aka) Pyone Cho, one of
the key leaders of the 88 Generation Students, was arrested by the regime for
second time, despite having served more than a decade behind bars. The news of
his brother’s arrest made him more emotional and weak.
Thet Win Aung’s parents are now facing a double tragedy, as they have lost one
of their sons in prison, while another is continues to be detained. As
colleagues and former political prisoners, we will never forget Thet Win Aung’s
leading role in and sacrifices for the non-violent movement for democracy in
Burma. We promise that the death of Thet Win Aung will not be in vain.
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