by Myint Maung
Friday, 18 December 2009 22:57
New Delhi (India) – Burma born US citizen Nyi Nyi Aung called off his hunger strike in Insein prison, his lawyer said on Friday.
“It is said that Nyi Nyi Aung ended his hunger strike. His health condition is not serious though he has become thinner. We don’t know when he called it off. He seems weak and we could not talk to him privately and met him only in the courtroom,” lawyer Nyan Win said.
Kyaw Zaw Lwin a.k.a. Nyi Nyi Aung (40) began his hunger strike in prison on December 4 protesting against ill treatment of prisoners and demanding their rights.
It is still not clear when he ended his hunger strike and whether the authorities gave in to his demands or not.
The South District Court sitting inside Insein prison today heard two police officers being examined for each count of the charge levelled. The argument shall be presented on December 29 as to whether the accused should be charged or not.
“I could not meet him for two weeks and can meet him on Monday. The family was worried whether he would be produced in court today. We felt happy when we heard he was produced in court and was fine,” his aunt Khin Swe Swe said.
Intelligence officials arrested Nyi Nyi Aung on September 3 this year when he arrived at the Mingaladon airport in Rangoon from Bangkok.
Nyi Nyi Aung fled to the Thai-Burma border when the Burmese Army cracked down on the 1988 uprising. He resettled in US. After that, he was alleged to have travelled to Burma eight times.
He has been charged with cases under section 420 (cheating), section 468 (forgery) of the Penal Code and under section 24 of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act.
US Senator James Webb expressed concern over Nyi Nyi Aung after he staged a hunger strike in Insein prison.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
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