ENGLISH DEYEA NEWS

By MIN LWIN | Lawyers defending detained political activists in Burma are facing increased intimidation from the country’s military government, according to sources close to the lawyers.

In the latest sign that the Burmese regime is intent on preventing dissidents from receiving fair trials, on Wednesday a lawyer representing members of the 88 Generation Students group was denied permission to attend a court hearing at Rangoon’s Insein Prison.

“The lawyer Kyaw Hoe was supposed to appear at a hearing by the Rangoon Southern District Court to defend Thein Than Tun and 13 other members of the 88 Generation Students group, but he was denied permission to enter the courtroom without any official explanation,” said a source close to the lawyer.

“Kyaw Hoe asked the prison authorities why he was not allowed to enter the court, but they just replied that they didn’t know where the orders came from,” the source added, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A number of other lawyers representing detained dissidents have faced various forms of obstruction, including arrest, since late October.

Khin Maung Shein, a lawyer representing several political activists, said that he and another lawyer, Aung Thein, were charged recently in Hlaing Township Court with violating Section 3 of the Contempt of Court Act.

“There will be a hearing on the charges against us at the High Court on Thursday,” said Khin Maung Shein.

On October 30, another lawyer, Nyi Nyi Htwe, received a six-month prison sentence under Section 228 of the Penal Code, which prohibits any expression of disrespect toward a “public servant sitting in any state of a judicial proceeding.”

“The more the government bans political activists’ lawyers from appearing in court, the more unjust their trials will be,” said a former political prisoner.

According to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), there are currently 13 lawyers defending pro-democracy activists in the country’s courts.