Aye Aung
Encyclopedia
Aye Aung is a currently imprisoned Burmese democracy activist. Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...

 considers him a prisoner of conscience
Prisoner of conscience
Prisoner of conscience is a term defined in Peter Benenson's 1961 article "The Forgotten Prisoners" often used by the human rights group Amnesty International. It can refer to anyone imprisoned because of their race, religion, or political views...

.

Aye Aung studied physics at Dagon University
Dagon University
Dagon University , located in North Dagon, Yangon, is one of the largest universities in Myanmar. The university, established in 1993, offers bachelor's and master's degrees in liberal arts and sciences to full-time, part-time and online students. Dagon University also offers a full-time four-year...

, where he became active in the pro-democracy group All Burma Federation of Student Unions
All Burma Federation of Student Unions
The All Burma Federation of Student Unions is the umbrella organisation for all the student unions in Burma and is an active voice for academic freedoms and student rights throughout the country...

 (ABFSU). On 12 September 1998, he was arrested along with Myo Min Zaw
Myo Min Zaw
Myo Min Zaw is a currently-imprisoned Burmese democracy activist considered a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.Myo Min Zaw studied English at the University of Yangon, where he became active in the pro-democracy group All Burma Federation of Student Unions...

 for distributing fliers and organizing student demonstrations in Yangon
Yangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...

. Both Aye Aung and Myo Min Zaw alleged that they were subsequently tortured in custody. At a press conference on 8 October 1998, the government announced that they had discovered a plot by Myo Min Zaw to “create disturbances in support of the National League for Democracy
National League for Democracy
The National League for Democracy is a Burmese political party founded on 27 September 1988. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi serves as its General Secretary. The party won a substantial parliamentary majority in the 1990 Burmese general election. However, the ruling military junta...

 demand to convene parliament and to object to the ongoing university and college examinations”. Aye Aung and Myo Min Zaw were reportedly denied legal representation at their trial, which was held in Insein prison
Insein Prison
Insein Prison is located in Yangon Division, near Yangon , the old capital of Myanmar. It is run by the military junta of Myanmar, the State Peace and Development Council, and used largely to repress political dissidents....

; Amnesty International also argued that the fairness of their trial was compromised by the press conference given by Burmese officials, in which they presumed the guilt of the two detainees. Both men were found guilty, and the court ordered that the sentences for each charge must be served cumulatively, rather than concurrently. As a result, Aye Aung was sentenced to a 59-year prison term, which he is currently serving in Kale prison in Burma's northwestern Sagaing Region; Myo Min Zaw was sentenced to 52 years.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners
Assistance Association of Political Prisoners is an independent non-profit organisation founded by Burmese former political prisoners living in exile...

 has alleged that conditions of Aye Aung's imprisonment are poor. In January 2005, his family reported that he was suffering from malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...

, which was being worsened by prison officials denying him blankets in the winter. His mother stated that he was also suffering from gastric disease and severe back pain due to prison conditions.

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