Myanmar’s jailed State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi – the country’s oldest female political prisoner – marks her 80th birthday today.
There are many other aging political prisoners in junta prisons, a stark reminder of repression since the 2021 coup.
She has overtaken Daw Kyi Kyi, the wife of Communist Party of Burma chair Thakhin Zin, who was freed at 79 by the State Law and Order Restoration Council.
The embassies of the EU, US, UK, Sweden, Italy, Finland, France and Germany issued birthday wishes on Thursday, posting photos of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi or changing their profile pictures. The UK and US reiterated calls for the release of all those unjustly detained.
Many National League for Democracy (NLD) members were detained during the February 2021 coup. NLD patron U Win Htein, 84, President U Win Myint, 73, and Karen State chief minister Nan Khin Htwe Myint, 70, remain behind bars.
Many are suffering from medical conditions.
Last October, Dr Zaw Myint Maung, Mandalay’s chief minister, died of leukemia at 73 after receiving inadequate medical treatment in prison. He was suffering from leukemia when he was arrested during the coup. He was admitted to Mandalay General Hospital after his condition deteriorated inside Obo Prison.
Junta officials granted him a pardon hours before his death while he lay unconscious. The pardon was condemned as insincere by Myanmar’s people and the EU.
NLD energy minister U Win Khine, who was also arrested during the coup, died of heart failure at Mandalay General Hospital in November 2024, 12 days after he was granted a pardon on health grounds. He was 73.
Another senior NLD figure, U Nyan Win died in 2021 shortly after he was transferred to Yangon General Prison from Insein Prison where he contracted Covid. He was 79.
U Win Htein, 84, has spent the past four years in Obo. He used a wheelchair before the coup and suffered from high blood pressure, heart and thyroid problems, diabetes and prostatitis. He also needs oxygen support. The regime has jailed him for 20 years.
Supporters fear for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s health, including her recurrent dental pain, low blood pressure and dizziness. The regime has given her 27 years in prison.
In Karen State, 70-year-old Karen State chief minister Nan Khin Htwe Myint is serving a 40-year sentence in Hpa-an prison. She was initially given 80 years, which was halved in 2022.
In June last year, U Win Myint, 73, needed a urinary catheter.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, the regime has detained 29,295 people since the coup with more than 22,000 still behind bars.
“These are national leaders who should never be behind bars. They have been detained unjustly and denied proper medical treatment. It is slow, calculated torture driven by resentment,” association member Ko Bo Kyi told The Irrawaddy.
Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing continues to condemn the NLD and its jailed leadership, suggesting no release dates are due to be announced.
