The Myanmar military regime on Tuesday granted a pardon to U Win Khine, the ailing electricity and energy minister of the ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) government, releasing him from Obo Prison in Mandalay, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The 73-year-old former minister has been suffering from clogged arteries, and his condition started to deteriorate earlier this year. He was sent straight to an intensive care unit after the pardon was granted, said the source.
“I heard the military had granted a pardon. He is now in the ICU and in critical condition. He has been receiving treatment since early this year in Obo Prison,” said the source.
U Win Khine, a mechanical engineer, served as the electricity and energy minister in the NLD government from 2017 to Feb. 1, 2021, when he was arrested by the Myanmar military along with other NLD government leaders including President U Win Myint and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, both of whom are still imprisoned.
In December 2021, the regime opened a case against U Win Khine and his deputy Dr. Tun Naing for alleged corruption. A court in Naypyitaw sentenced the former minister to 28 years in prison.
U Bo Kyi, the joint secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said: “He was unfairly detained and was not given proper medical treatment and medicines during detention.” He added that this lack of proper treatment often leads to sick prisoners falling into critical condition.
In 2019, U Win Khine was treated in Bangkok for a heart condition, undergoing a stent insertion procedure.
According to the AAPP, 103 political prisoners have died in prison since the putsch, 63 of whom died due to a lack of proper medical treatment. Among the notable political prisoners who have recently died in prison are former Mandalay Region Chief Minister Dr Zaw Myint Maung and pioneering documentary filmmaker Pe Maung Same.
Both were released from prison after their conditions deteriorated badly, and died within a few days of their release.
