(CNN) -- A U.S. citizen and human rights activist was sentenced to five years in prison in Myanmar, the man's attorney said Wednesday.
Zaw Lwin, 40, was sentenced for using a fake national identity card, breaching the registration act and carrying foreign currency of more than $2,000 without permission, said lawyer Nyan Win.
Zaw Lwin may serve only three years in prison, because some of the charges will run concurrently, the lawyer said.
The activist, also known as Nyi Nyi Aung, was arrested in September 2009 at the airport in Yangon.
Zaw Lwin is a U.S. citizen who was born in Myanmar, also known as Burma, his lawyer said.
The number of political prisoners has doubled in Myanmar over the past two years, to about 2,100, according to Human Rights Watch.
Zaw Lwin had been working for the Free Burmese Political Prisoners Now campaign in Thailand before his arrest. His mother and two cousins are serving lengthy prison terms in Myanmar for participating demonstrations in 2007, the lawyer said.
Source :http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/02/10/myanmar.activist.sentenced/
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