June 2011 AAPP Monthly Chronology

Summary of current situation

There are a 1,994 total of political prisoners in Burma. In June, 4 political prisoners were released.

Since the protests in September 2007 leading to September’s Saffron Revolution, a total of 847 activists have been arrested and are still in detention.

Monthly Trend Analysis

During the month of June, 4 political prisoners were released.

Political prisoners continue to be held in inhumane and harsh conditions that fall well below internationally accepted standards. Interviews conducted by AAPP of those released under the so-called amnesty in May 2011 have renewed the sense of urgency in having outside monitors independently visit Burma’s prisons and detention centers on a regular basis. Ko Sai Min Thein, one of those interviewed, explains how upon learning UN envoy Sergio Pinheiro would visit detention centers in the aftermath of the Saffron revolution, Burmese authorities secretly transferred him and countless others who were arbitrarily arrested to a police battalion. Pinheiro was then shown a detention center where no one was being held arbitrarily or unlawfully. This blatant cover-up not only reveals that authorities are knowingly using prohibited methods of detention, but is also in direct contravention of international standards as the right to be free from arbitrary detention is a fundamental value enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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6-Monthly Chronology of Burma{s Political Prisoners for June 2011