Political Prisoner, ‘Afraid of Nothing,’ Dies of TB

A political prisoner, Win Tin, also known as Annul, a youth member of the main opposition National League for Democracy, died on Thursday in Tharrawaddy Prison in Burma, while serving a 24-year sentence of hard labor, according to a human rights group.  
 
Win Tin, 30, died of tuberculosis in the prison in Pegu Division, according to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma).
   
A Muslim, Win Tin was arrested in 1999 for his political activities.

Myat Hla, the chairman of the NLD office in Pegu, said, “He [Win Tin] had been suffering from tuberculosis for a long time. We heard often that his health condition was bad, and he didn’t receive medical treatment in prison. This morning, when his family members went to see him, he had already died.”

Win Tin is survived by his wife. He joined the NLD when he was teenager and was very active in the political movement, said Myat Hla.

“He was afraid nothing,” he said.

Bo Kyi, the joint secretary of the AAPP, said Win Tin had suffered from tuberculosis since 2002. He didn’t receive proper medical treatment in spite of specific requests from his family members to prison authorities, he said.

“Medical treatment in Burmese prisons is very poor,” said Bo Kyi. “If the authorities don’t provide sufficient medical treatment, more prisoners will die in the future.”

The military government charged Win Tin with activities destructive to the stability of the regime. 

The AAPP estimates that there are 1,864 political prisoners in Burmese prisons.