Myanmar frees pro-democracy lawyers after 4 months

The Associated Press
Published: March 6, 2009

YANGON, Myanmar: A lawyer says he and another attorney who represented pro-democracy activists in Myanmar have been released after serving four months in prison for contempt of court.

Aung Thein and Khin Maung Shein were arrested in December.

Upon his release Friday, Aung Thein said "he should not have been detained in the first place."

The lawyers represented several prominent dissidents, including some Buddhist monks who were arrested after pro-democracy demonstrations last year.

Human rights groups estimate Myanmar's military junta is holding more than 2,100 political detainees, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent 13 of the past 19 years in detention without trial.

Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/03/06/asia/AS-Myanmar-Lawyers-Freed.php

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