Date: April 23, 2005

Ye Kyaw Zwa is suffering from serious depression. He has been suffering from this mental health condition since 2004, but up until now, the prison authority hasn't provided him with any adequate treatment. As a result of this neglect, his health situation is deteriorating.

According to a family source, "he didn't talk to his family when they visited him, but gazed at them blankly."

He is currently detained in MyinGyan prison, located in Magwe division, upper Burma. The distance between Myingyan and Rangoon is nearly 396 miles. The weather of Myingyan is extremely cold in winter and very hot in summer. The prison was built in 1892.

There is only a small hospital in Myingyan prison and no psychiatric specialists. Therefore, a prisoner suffering from a mental health condition receives no specialist treatment. His family would like him to be moved back to Insein prison, Rangoon, to be near his family's residence.

The first time Ye Kyaw Zwa was arrested was in 1990. He was given 3 years imprisonment whilst he was a high school student. He was released in 1992. He was then arrested once again in 1996 because he was connected to the 1996 student movement in Rangoon; he was sentenced to 19 years imprisonment. Today, he is still completing this sentence. Amnesty International has regarded him as 'prisoner of conscience'.

Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma)