Last week, a court in Burma sentenced leading activist Wai Moe Naing to 20 more years in prison. He is now serving a sentence of 74 years in jail. He would be over 100 years old when released.
After the coup, Wai Moe Naing led protests against the military in Monywa, Sagaing Region and was arrested in April 2021. He was beaten and dragged away by military forces after his motorcycle was rammed by an unmarked police car during an anti-coup rally.
After his arrest, he was tortured and interrogated in a detention centre. Since then, he has faced multiple charges, including treason, alleged murder, incitement, and unlawful association. He was forced to represent himself in court because the military also arrested his lawyers as part of their crackdown on lawyers defending political activists.
Prominent protest leader Wai Moe Naing before and after his arrest.
There are more than 20,000 political prisoners in jail in Burma. Many have faced torture, rape and sexual violence. All are kept in appalling conditions without access to proper food or medical care. We must make sure they are not forgotten.
Please let Wai Moe Naing know that he is not forgotten by sending a letter or card.
We can’t guarantee he will receive the letter or card you send, but some political prisoners have in the past.
The address to write to is:
Wai Moe Naing
C/O The Governor of Monywa Prison
Monywa Prison
Monywa
Sagaing Region
Myanmar (Burma)
In many countries now postage can be purchased online.
Letter writing tips:
Letters or cards can be as long or as short as you like. Even a short note is better than no letter at all!
Tell them a little bit about yourself, your family, what you do.
Say something about why you care and are taking the time to write this letter.
Be encouraging, let them know that you and others will never give up campaigning for their release.
If you have written to political prisoners before and they have been released, write about it. It will give them hope.
