Secretary Clinton needs to act on behalf of Kyaw Zaw Lwin

Amnesty International: Sec. Clinton Needs to Act on Behalf of U.S. Citizen Arrested and Tortured in Burma.

Amnesty International Press Statement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, September 25, 2009

Amnesty International Urges Secretary Clinton to Act on Behalf of U.S.
Citizen Arrested and Tortured in Burma (Myanmar)

Contact: AIUSA media office, 202-544-0200 x302, ssingh@aiusa.org

(Washington) – Amnesty International reported today that activist
Kyaw Zaw Lwin, who was arrested on September 3, has suffered torture
and other ill-treatment while in detention in Insein Prison in Yangon,
Burma. According to reliable sources, he has been denied medical
treatment for the injuries he sustained from the torture he endured
during interrogation. Amnesty International has grave concerns about
his health.

Burma’s state newspaper, New Light of Myanmar, recently reported that
Kyaw Zaw Lwin had entered Burma to “create unrests within the
country.” The newspaper reported details of the activities that Kyaw
Zaw Lwin and other Burmese pro-democracy exiles allegedly undertook in
collaboration with “internal anti-government elements” in Myanmar.

"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should immediately take steps to
stop the torture and ill-treatment of a U.S. citizen arrested in
Burma,” said T. Kumar, Amnesty International USA advocacy director for
international issues. “In addition to his injuries and lack of
treatment, Kyaw Zaw Lwin has also been deprived food for seven days.”

Secretary Clinton announced yesterday that the United States will
begin to engage with high-level Burmese leaders to bring democracy to
the nation and the release of the opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, has been declared a
prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.

“This is the first test for the United States’ new policy of
engagement,” said Kumar. “Amnesty International hopes that this new
engagement also covers protecting human rights in Burma. If Secretary
Clinton fails to act, there will be many questions about the United
States’ latest strategy to end the oppression of the Burmese people."

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots
activist organization with more than 2.2 million supporters, activists
and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights
worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates
and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever
justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.

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For more information, please visit: www.amnestyusa.org