Nay Rein Kyaw (, ; born October 1970)
/ref> is a Burmese journalist and former

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

. He currently working as a senior editor for

Radio Free Asia Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a news service that publishes online news, information, commentary and broadcasts radio programs for its audiences in Asia. The service, which provides editorially independent reporting, has the stated mission of pro ...

since January 2008.

Career

As a young

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution, or more generally, a person who takes a special interest in a subject. In the United Kingdom and most The Commonwealth, commonwealth countries, a "student" attends ...

, he had participated in the

8888 Uprising The 8888 Uprising, also known as the People Power Uprising and the 1988 Uprising, was a series of nationwide protests, marches, and riots in Burma (present-day Myanmar) that peaked in August 1988. Key events occurred on 8 August 1988 and ther ...

. Later, he joined the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (HQ) and worked for the organization committee. In April 1992, he released an ABFSU statement against the so-called National Convention and in June 1992, he was arrested, as a result. Rein Kyaw was then sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. He had been arrested twice before his sentencing in 1992. He was incarcerated in the notorious prisons of Insein and

Myingyan Myingyan (, ) is a city and district in the Mandalay Division of central Myanmar, previously, it was a district in the Meiktila Division of Upper Burma. It is currently the capital of Myingyan Township and lies along the National Highway 2. ...

. He was later released in 2000 after serving time in prison. Furthermore, he was subjected to brutal torture in the interrogation centers. Rein Kyaw had spent six years at

Insein Prison Insein Prison () is located in Yangon Division, near Yangon (Rangoon), the old capital of Myanmar (formerly Burma). From 1988 to 2011 it was run by the military junta of Myanmar, named the State Law and Order Restoration Council from 1988 to 2003 ...

and over two years at Myingyan Prinson stated he still remembered his horrific ordeal in jail. An article from

The Irrawaddy ''The Irrawaddy'' () is a news website by the Irrawaddy Publishing Group (IPG), founded in 1990 by Burmese exiles living in Thailand. As a publication produced by former Burmese activists who fled violent crackdowns on anti-military protests in ...

quoted him: "I still have nightmares after what they "''The military government''" did to me in prison." The same article also said that he was seeking justice for other political prisoners through the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) and quoted Rein Kyaw as saying, "This is, in a way, my revenge for what they did. To expose their crimes." In 2004, he moved to United States under the resettlement program of UNHCR. Then, he works as a broadcaster for Radio Free Asia since January 2008.

References

1970 births Living people Burmese activists Burmese prisoners and detainees {{Burma-bio-stub