URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY
MMR 002 / 1008 / OBS 174
Arbitrary detention
Burma
October 30, 2008
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Burma.
Description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the arbitrary detention of Mr. Nyi Nyi Htwe, a human rights lawyer.
According to the information received, on October 29, 2008, Mr. Nyi Nyi Htwe was arrested by the police due to his participation in the defence of 11 youth members from Hlaing Thar Yar Township, Rangoon, of the National League for Democracy (NLD). He is currently detained at the Hlaing Thar Yar police station.
Indeed, Mr. Nyi Nyi Htwe, along with Mr. Saw Kyaw Kyaw Min, are the defence lawyers of the 11 NLD young protesters who were arrested in September 2008 for having peacefully marched towards the Shwe Dagon Pagoda on June 19, 2007, on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday, wearing T-shirts with a picture of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on them. The 11 were arrested during their march and released on the next day by the authorities. One year later, they were arrested again, charged with an offense for instigation to public unrest, and brought to trial before the Hlaing Thar Yar Township Court.
The 11 defendants and their two lawyers submitted a complaint to the judge to address the violations of their rights, as, since the beginning of the trial, their lawyers have not been allowed to meet with their clients in private, the judge have not allowed them sufficient time to make counter questions against the prosecution witnesses, and their family members have not been allowed to attend the court hearings. Reportedly, the police and some plain-cloth persons have also been taking pictures and recording their voices during these hearings.
In the framework of this case, the prosecutor sued the two lawyers, under Section 228 of the Penal Code[i] and issued a warrant to arrest the latter. Therefore, Mr. Nyi Nyi Htwe was arrested. On October 30, 2008, Mr. Saw Kyaw Kyaw Min will go to the police station to face the same charge. The Observatory fears that he will also be arrested.
The Observatory expresses its deepest concern regarding Mr. Nyi Nyi Htwe's arbitrary detention, which evidences the extremely repressive environment for human rights defenders in the country, and recalls that according to the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, "everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels" (Article 1).
Action requested:
Please write to the Burmese authorities urging them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Nyi Nyi Htwe and Mr. Saw Kyaw Kyaw Min;
ii. Release Mr. Nyi Nyi Htwe immediately and unconditionally since his detention is arbitrary as it merely aims at sanctioning his human rights activities;
iii. Put an end to all acts of harassment - including at the judicial level - against Mr. Nyi Nyi Htwe and Mr. Saw Kyaw Kyaw Min as well as against all human rights defenders in Burma;
iv. Conform with above-mentioned Article 1 of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, as well as with Article 12.2, which states that "the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the [...] Declaration";
v. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Burma.
Addresses:
・ Mr. Aye Maung, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General, 101 Pansodan Street, Kyauktada Township, Yangon, Myanmar, Fax: + 95 1 371 028/ 282 449 / 282 990
・ Lt Sein Thein, Prime Minister, c/o Ministry of Defence, Signal Pagoda Road, Yangon, Myanmar, Tel: + 95 1 372 681; Fax: + 95 1 652 624
・ Minister for Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, No. 10 Naypyidaw, Myanmar; Tel: +95 67 412 040/ 069/ 072; Fax: +95 67 412 016/ 439; E-mail: ddg.gad@gad.gov.mm
・ Permanent Mission of Myanmar to the United Nations in Geneva, 47 avenue Blanc, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland, Tel: + 41 22 906 98 70; Fax: + 41 22 732 89 19; Email: mission.myanmar@ties.itu.int
・ Embassy of Myanmar in Brussels, 9 boulevard General Wahis, 1030 Schaerbeek, Brussels, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 705.50.48.
Please also write to the diplomatic representations of Burma in your respective countries.
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Geneva - Paris, October 30, 2008
