Monk among 11 activists sentenced

Prison sentences of up to 10 years have been handed down to 11 activists, including one monk, by a prison court in Burma, family sources say.

Five of those sentenced on Tuesday were already serving lengthy detentions for activity related to the September 2007 protests.

A monk, U Sandimar, of the All Burma Monks Alliance (ABMA), was sentenced to 10 years under the Explosives Law and Unlawful Associations Act. Three others Kyaw Zin Min, Wunna Nwe and Zin Min Shein, were sentenced under the same charges.

The ABMA told DVB today that they so far have no information on the sentencing.

The lawyer for Sandimar, Maung Maung Latt, has said that his client and co-defendants claimed they were tortured during interrogation by authorities.

“They all said they were physically and mentally tortured and denied food and during interrogation by Rangoon division’s intelligence unit,” he said, adding that he is preparing to submit an appeal for his client at a higher court.

The remaining seven activists, Aung Moe Lwin, Moe Htet Nay, Htun Lin Aung, Zaw Latt, Naing Win and Htun Lin Oo, Saw Maung, the latter a member of the Generation Wave activist group, received five-year sentences for violation of the Unlawful Associations Act.

U Sandimar and Wunna Nwe were both a year into an eight-year sentence for breaching the Immigration Law and Unlawful Association Act.

A source close to the family of Zin Min Shein said that he will now face a total of 23 years in prison, having already been sentenced in October 2008 to 13 years under the Unlawful Association Act.

Htun Lin Aung, who was sentenced in 2008 alongside Zin Min Shein, will now serve a total of 18 years.