Chiang Mai – In an apparent act of bypassing the law, Burmese authorities on Tuesday remanded human rights activist Myo Thant without producing him before court.

Family members said Myo Thant, a member of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters (HRDP) who was detained by authorities for his involvement in the September protests and later reportedly kept in dark-cell inside Burma's notorious Insein prison, has been returned to his cell without being produced before court.

 

Thi Thi Soe, a sister of Myo Thant who for 13 days held a hunger strike demanding just treatment for political prisoners inside the prison, said authorities reportedly argued that the detained rights activist was not produced before the court for health reasons.

 

"The authorities told us he has been hospitalized in the Insein prison hospital for 3 to 4 days for treatment," Thi Thi Soe added.

 

"He was remanded and his next hearing is fixed for April 22. He caught a cold while kept in the dark-cell. He is weak and not feeling well. We also found him weak whenever he was produced before the court for previous hearings. He looked thin and frail too. He couldn't come to the court for yesterday's hearing," Pho Phyu, Myo Thant's defense counsel, commented.

 

Myo Thant (40) was arrested on September 29, 2007, for his involvement in the Saffron Revolution and was charged under section 124(a) of the Criminal Code, disaffection towards the state.

 

Similarly, Kyi Phyu, a North Dagon Township member of Burma's main opposition party – National League for Democracy – was also remanded on Tuesday. Kyi Phyu is reportedly also charged under section 124 (a), and is kept in solitary confinement in Insein prison and is reportedly in a poor state of health.

 

Another 7 political prisoners including members of the 88 generation student group NLD members Sithu Maung, Zin Lin Aung, Ye Min Oo, Ye Myat Hein and Thein Swe were additionally remanded yesterday without being produced before the court. Their next hearings have also been fixed for April 22.