Myanmar Frees US Activist Zaw Lwin
Myanmar authorities have released Zaw Lwin (40), an American human rights activist who was handed a five-year prison sentence in February.
Lwin, also known as Nyi Nyi Aung, was freed Thursday, government officials said. He was arrested in September 2009 at the airport in Yangon and later convicted for forging a national identity card, carrying more than $ 2,000 in foreign currency without requisite permissions and breaching immigration regulations.
A US citizen born in Myanmar, Lwin was facing up to three years in prison as sentences for some of the charges were to run concurrently.
He was working for the ‘Free Burmese Political Prisoners Now’ campaign in Thailand before his arrest.
While the reasons behind Lwin’s release were not immediately clear, his mother and two cousins continue to serve lengthy terms in a Myanmar prison for participating in demonstrations in 2007.
Based on Media Reports
