Myanmar activists get harsh sentences

One-sided judgment
Most of the 88 Generation members were arrested on Aug. 21, 2007, for protesting a fuel-price hike, while others were arrested after rallies led by Buddhist monks that were violently suppressed in September 2007.

Nyunt Nyunt Oo said her son and others were sentenced under various charges — including a law calling for a prison term of up to 20 years for anyone who demonstrates, makes speeches or writes statements undermining government stability.

She said other charges included having links to illegal groups and violating restrictions on foreign currency, video and electronic communications.

Asked if an appeal was planned, Nyunt Nyunt Oo said, "I don't think any effort will make a difference because the judgment is one-sided and this was what the authorities had decided to do."

Labor activist sentenced
In a separate hearing at Insein Prison, labor activist and National League for Democracy member Su Su Nway was sentenced to 12 1/2 years for her political activities, said Nyan Win, a party spokesman.

Su Su Nway served nine months in prison in 2005-2006 for labor activism. She protested oil price hikes in Yangon in August 2007 and escaped arrest when a protest was crushed Aug. 28. Video broadcast worldwide showed fellow protesters protecting Su Su Nway as pro-government forces moved in.

She was arrested a year ago as she tried to paste up a leaflet near a Yangon hotel during the visit of a U.N. human rights investigator.

Nyan Win also said 10 party members from Bogalay township in the Irrawaddy Delta received prison sentences Tuesday ranging from eight to 24 years.

On Monday, a court sentenced a blogger to 20 1/2 years in jail for his Internet activities, and a poet was sentenced to two years in prison for concealing the text of an anti-government slogan in one of his works.

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