Information on Prisoners of Conscience in Myanmar

Myanmar's Insein Prison, where Ma Khin Khin Leh and hundreds of others are belived to be held
(c) Digital Globe 2008. Image taken from Google Earth

In the largest crackdown on human rights in Myanmar since 1988, security forces and pro-government supporters have dispersed, beaten and arrested hundreds of peaceful protesters since August 2007. More than 2,100 political prisoners remain imprisoned in Myanmar, one of the largest of such populations worldwide.

Authorities regularly use broad security laws, such as the 1950 Emergency Provisions Act and the Unlawful Associations Act, to prosecute people for peaceful political and religious activities. Trials of political prisoners fall far short of international fair trial standards. Although military tribunals were abolished in 1992, the civilian judiciary is not independent from the military authorities.

Authorities have violated the economic, social and cultural rights of the people, as well as their civil and political rights. They have resisted international relief efforts and humanitarian assistance. Myanmar's military has exploited tens of thousands of ethnic minority civilians by confiscating their land, stealing their crops and livestock, extorting money, and seizing people, including women and children, for forced labor. A third of all children in Myanmar suffer chronic malnourishment, according to United Nations data.