AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

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AAAS Human Rights Action Network

FACTS OF THE CASE:

Dr. Than Nyein, aged 67, has been imprisoned since 1997 for his work with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD). Dr. Than Nyein, a medical doctor and opposition Member of Parliament-elect, has been denied necessary medical treatment for potentially life-threatening health problems.

Dr Than Nyein, who ran a private clinic and worked as a volunteer doctor for the United Nations in Sri Lanka in the 1980s, was elected as a NLD Member of Parliament in the capital, Yangon, in elections that were held in 1990. The NLD won more than 80% of seats, but the ruling military government has not handed over power. In September 1997, the doctor was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for arranging for NLD leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to meet with party members. The authorities did not release him when he had completed his sentence, and have repeatedly renewed detention orders, without charging or trying him. Under Act 10 (A) of the State Protection Law, the Home Minister may detain without charge or trial anyone who may endanger the state, and detention orders are often repeatedly renewed.

Since being in prison, Dr. Than Nyeins health has deteriorated significantly. He has been repeatedly hospitalized during his imprisonment for liver and gall bladder complaints. In late 2004, a prison doctor recommended that he receive specialist medical treatment, but the authorities have reportedly failed to provide it. Another prison doctor reportedly recommended in mid-February 2005 that Dr. Than Nyein be transferred to Yangon to receive specialist medical treatment, but this has not been done. He is now reported to have a swollen abdomen and to present symptoms of serious illness that have not been adequately investigated. The specialist medical treatment he requires is reportedly not available at Pyay Prison, where he has been held since January.

Despite his ill-health, Dr Than Nyein went on hunger strike in September 2004, to protest his continued detention, and is reported to have told a family member, "It is inhumane torture to extend the imprisonment with Act 10 (A) of a person whose health is deteriorating and who had already served his sentence. I dont want to be killed by the authorities but by myself. Thats why I have decided to stage a hunger strike even though I am not in good shape." Since then the authorities have moved him to new prisons four times. After the first time he was moved, shortly after he began his hunger strike, he had to be returned to Yangon for hospital treatment, as his health had deteriorated dramatically. The authorities moved him a second time, shortly before he planned to go on hunger strike again, to a prison 241 kilometers from Yangon, where his family lives. He was moved again in January 2005, from Paungte Prison to Pyay Prison, reportedly one day before he was scheduled to receive medical treatment. Pyay Prison is 288 kilometers from Yangon, a journey of around seven hours by road.

Many prisoners in Myanmar reportedly rely on their families to provide medication, and fresh food to supplement the meager prison diet. Moving them to distant prisons makes this more difficult, and puts a further financial burden on their families. The medical care provided in Myanmars prisons is inadequate; many prisoners are reported to die from medical conditions that were not adequately treated while they were in custody and many are suffering from illnesses exacerbated by their treatment in prison, where food and medical treatment are inadequate, and conditions in many cases amount to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

(Source of information for this case is Amnesty International.)

RELEVANT HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS

UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners

• Article 22(2): Sick prisoners who require specialist treatment shall be transferred to specialized institutions or to civil hospitals. Where hospital facilities are provided in an institution, their equipment, furnishings and pharmaceutical supplies shall be proper for the medical care and treatment of sick prisoners, and there shall be a staff of suitable trained officers.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

• Article 19: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
• Article 20(1): Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Please send faxes, letters, or emails:

• Expressing concern for the welfare of Dr. Than Nyein and requesting that he be given immediate medical attention;
• Urging the government to release Dr. Than Nyein because it appears that he may be detained solely for his legitimate political activities; and
• Expressing concern that, as well as denying the fundamental right to be presumed innocent and to receive a fair trial, Act 10(A) does not define what constitutes "a danger to the state" and thereby has allowed the authorities to arbitrarily detain people for peaceful political activities.

APPEAL AND INQUIRY MESSAGES SHOULD BE SENT TO:

Senior General Than Shwa
Chairman, State Peace and Development Council
c/o Director of Defense Services Intelligence (DDSI)
Ministry of Defense
Signal Pagoda Road
Dagon Post Office
Yangon
Union of Myanmar
Fax: 011 95 1 229 50
Salutation: Dear General

COPIES SENT TO:

Lt. General Soe Win
Prime Minister
State peace and Development Council
Ministry of Defence
Signal Pagoda Road
Dagon Post Office
Yangon
Union of Myanmar
Salutation: Dear Mr. Prime Minister

Please send copies of your appeals, and any responses you may receive, or direct any questions you may have to Victoria Baxter, AAAS Science and Human Rights Program, 1200 New York Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20005; tel. 202-326-6797; email vbaxter@aaas.org; or fax 202-289-4950.

The keys to effective appeals are to be courteous and respectful, accurate and precise, impartial in approach, and as specific as possible regarding the alleged violation and the international human rights standards and instruments that apply to the situation. Reference to your scientific organization and professional affiliation is always helpful.

To ensure that appeals are current and credible, please do not continue to write appeals on this case after 90 days from the date of the posting unless an update has been issued.

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