Shan: Burmese Prisoner Kyaw Khin in a Critical State
The elected representative (MP) of Shan State capital Taunggyi, Kyaw Khin who has been detained at a local prison is in a critical state as he has been denied medical treatments for his deteriorating eyes.
According to his family, 69-year old Kyaw Khin has been suffering from a severe form of ocular pain since the end of 2005. He repeatedly requested the prison authorities to let him see an eye specialist but no action has been taken for nearly four months, and he is in the stage of nearly losing his eyesight, according to his wife Khin Ohn Myint who went to see him at the prison recently.
“He is not like when I met him last time, anymore. As his eyes are not well, he deemed to look quite stressed and very dejected. When I returned (home), I do not feel good. Neither do the whole family,” said Khin Ohn Myint.
She reported the plight of her husband to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) office in Taunggyi, but no palpable help was obtained as the authorities have been banning the ICRC from giving helps to prisoners. She added that she understands the predicament the ICRC is in at the moment and thanks the organisation for its efforts.
Kyaw Khin is currenly being detained at Taung-lay-lone Prison outside Taunggyi. He was arrested on 25 February and sentenced to fourteen years under the notorious Emergency Provision Act – 5J and Act 17-20 because some innocuous pamphlets were ‘found’ near him in a classroom.
He was arrested and imprisoned for the first time in 1996 for attempting to form the Committee Representing People’s Parliament (CRPP). The second arrest and imprisonment came soon after he was released from the first detention.
