Release of Dr Tun Aung

We are very pleased to have received the following press release:-

Myanmar: Freedom for all prisoners of conscience must follow activist’s release



The release of peaceful activist Dr Tun Aung, jailed simply for trying to prevent communal violence, is a positive step, but authorities in Myanmar should also free the dozens of other prisoners of conscience still behind bars, Amnesty International said.



Dr Tun Aung, a Muslim community leader and medical doctor, was released from prison yesterday. He was first jailed in 2012 after trying to calm the crowd during a riot involving Buddhists and Rohingya in Rakhine State, western Myanmar, and was sentenced to up to 17 years’ imprisonment under various trumped-up charges.



“This is a very welcome move by the authorities and we are delighted that Dr Tun Aung is finally free and will be reunited with his family. His release will come as encouragement for all of those inside and outside the country who campaigned for his freedom,” said Rupert Abbott, Amnesty International’s Research Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.



“But he should never have been imprisoned in the first place – the charges against him were baseless and the trials he faced farcical.”



“There’s also a risk that Dr Tun Aung could be arrested and imprisoned again as he was only conditionally released. The Myanmar authorities should lift any restrictions on him and ensure that he is free to peacefully exercise his human rights without threat of arrest or criminalization”.



“Despite Dr Tun Aung’s release, dozens more prisoners of conscience remain jailed in Myanmar – they must all be released immediately and without conditions.”