URGENT ACTION

US CITIZEN TORTURED IN YANGON

Trusted sources have reported to Amnesty international that male activist Kyaw Zaw Lwin was tortured and suffered other ill-treatment whilst in detention in Insein Prison, Yangon, Myanmar’s main city. He was arrested in Yangon on 3 September. He has been denied medical treatment for the injuries he sustained from the torture he endured during interrogation. There are grave concerns about his health.

The torture and ill-treatment that Kyaw Zaw Lwin suffered in detention included beating and kicking. He was deprived of food for seven days and moved between different interrogation centres. He was not allowed to sleep at night and was kept awake during interrogation by the authorities. Details of the charges against him are not known.

The state newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported on 24 September that Kyaw Zaw Lwin had entered Myanmar to “create unrests within the country”. The newspaper reported details of the activities that Kyaw Zaw Lwin and other Burmese pro-democracy exiles allegedly undertook in collaboration with “internal anti-government elements” in Myanmar.

Kyaw Zaw Lwin, a US citizen, received consular access for the first time on 22 September.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Burmese or your own language:

• express concern at reports that Kyaw Zaw Lin was tortured and suffered other ill-treatment whilst in detention;

• urging the authorities to immediately provide Kyaw Zaw Lin access to any medical treatment he may require, and that this continues until he is released;

• calling on the authorities to release Kyaw Zaw Lin immediately and unconditionally as soon as he has received the urgent medical treatment he needs;

• demand that the authorities guarantee that Kyaw Zaw Lwin is not tortured or otherwise ill-treated while he remains in custody and that he has access to his family and legal counsel.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 16 October TO: