Burmese-American sentenced to three years in prison

Wednesday, 10 February 2010 14:35 Phanida

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Nyi Nyi Aung, the Burmese-American citizen was sentenced to three years in prison today by the court sitting in Insein prison.

At the trial this morning, the Rangoon southern district court convicted Nyi Nyi Aung a.k.a. Kyaw Zaw Lwin (40) in cases under section 468 of the Penal Code (forgery – holding fake national ID), section 24(1) of the Foreign Exchange Act and under section 6(3) of the National Registration Act.

He was given three years in prison for forgery and was accused of altering a national ID card with his photograph. In two other cases he was given a year in prison each. The sentences will run concurrently.

"The judgment entails serving all the sentences concurrently accounting for three years," his lawyer Nyan Win said.

The trial was attended by US diplomats including a consul from the US embassy in Rangoon.

Lawyer Nyan Win was of the opinion that the former student activist Nyi Nyi Aung, who went underground, did not receive proper and full legal protection and legal rights. He said he would file an appeal.

"I don't think he got full legal protection and legal rights. We will file an appeal against the verdict in keeping with the law. The sentence is fair but some observations and conclusions in the judgment are unacceptable. I can talk about them only when we file the appeal," he said.

Nyi Nyi Aung was put in solitary confinement for staging a hunger strike and demanding humane treatment to prisoners. He is said to be in good health and his morale is high.

The former student activist fled to the Thai-Burma border after the army staged a coup in 1988 and settled in the US later. He was alleged to have entered Burma eight times. On September 3 last year, intelligence personnel arrested him on arrival at the Rangoon Mingaladon airport.