88 Generation Students' member tortured by prison authority - Htay Kywe
24 Dec, 2008 (DVB) - One of the detained leaders of the 88 Generation Students, Htay Kywe has been tortured physically and mentally by authorities, according to sources close to Buthidaung prison in northwest Burma.
Htay Kywe was ordered not to be fed regularly and to reduce the amount of food given to him, a prison staff said. He has also been detained in solitary confinement and denied physical exercises on the order of Home Affairs minister Major-General Maung Oo.
The order seems to be placed with the knowledge that Htay Kywe has serious gastric problems and went through a major operation during his first imprisonment, his friends said. There is no proper medical care in Buthidaung and the nearest proper hospital is situated in Arakan state capital Sittwe, they added.
Htay Kywe was arrested on 13 October 2007 for his part in instigating the protests over commodity prices beginning in August that year. He was denied permission to attend his mother Mi Mi Lay’s funeral on 3 December 2007 in Rangoon.
Htay Kywe and other 88 Generation Students including Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi were sentenced to 65 years’ imprisonment in early November and transferred to remote facilities across Burma.
They were jailed for 65 years each – 60 years under the Electronics Law and five for a violation of the corrections department regulations.
Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi were sent to Keng Tung prison in Eastern Shan state, Pyone Cho to Kaw Thaung prison in Tenasserim division, Mya Aye to Loi Kaw in Karenni state, Aung Thu to Putao prison in Kachin state along with activist Bo Bo Win Hlaing and seven others.
Reporting by Khin Hnin Htet
