Free All Burma’s Political Prisoners

There are still hundreds of political prisoners in jails across Burma, despite the welcome recent prisoner amnesties. The release of those remaining must be secured immediately and unconditionally.

Anyone can be detained for being involved in democracy activities and peaceful demonstrations. If you distribute one pamphlet, you could be sentenced to seven years with hard labour. Political prisoners are treated in a manner that does not conform with international standards, such as being refused their right to a lawyer and the right to a fair trial. They are often held in indefinite detention and tortured. Almost all political prisoners are beaten during interrogation. Some are subject to severe physical assaults, resulting in internal bleeding, unconsiousness and even death. Torture methods include electric shock; burning; the “iron road”, rolling an iron bar up and down the shins until the skin falls off; the “helicopter”, being suspended from the ceiling by the arms and spun round while beaten. Many political detainees are in poor health yet are denied proper medical care.