Journalist Win Tin freed by Burmese junta after 19 years in jail

Burma's longest-serving political prisoner, 78-year-old journalist Win Tin, was freed today after 19 years behind bars, writes Edward Loxton for The First Post. Win Tin was among 9,002 prisoners released, only a handful of whom were political detainees.

The freed political prisoners included another well-known writer, Aung Soe Myint, and four members of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) - Khin Maung Swe, May Win Myint, Win Htein and Than Nyein.

Win Tin, a campaigning journalist who won two major international awards while in prison, was offered freedom last year in return for assurances he would refrain from writing critically about the regime. He refused.

He was freed today unconditionally, without making any concession to the regime, a close friend told the exile Irrawaddy news service. Win Tin suffered heart and prostate problems while in prison, but he was reported to be in good health and high spirits as he left Rangoon's infamous Insein jail today.

The regime offered no reason for his release. Sources within the Thai-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) believe it could have been a move to soften international criticism and perhaps remove some of the pressure, particularly from Washington, in this week of commemoration of the 1988 uprising and last September's demonstrations.

International organisations such as Reporters without Borders campaigned energetically in support of Win Tin during his years in prison. In 2001 he was awarded the World Association of Newspapers Golden Pen of Freedom and the UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.

Before his arrest in 1989, months after the 1988 national uprising in which he played a leading role, Win Tin edited the influential newspaper Hanthawaddy. He was also vice-chairman of Burma's Writers' Union. He was sentenced to 20 years on charges that included "anti-government propaganda".

Around 2,000 political prisoners are believed to be still detained in Burma's prisons. The most famous, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, has been held under house arrest for more than 13 of the past 19 years. Her lawyer, Kyi Win, said today that a legal appeal against her continuing house arrest would be lodged in Naypyidaw on Thursday.

FIRST POSTED SEPTEMBER 23, 2008