Myanmar comedian jailed for activism reported ill

Myanmar comedian jailed for activism reported ill
AP - Tuesday, April 28

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – A popular comedian jailed by Myanmar's military government for his social and political activism is ill and being denied proper medical care, relatives said Monday.

The sister-in-law of Zarganar, who is serving a 35-year sentence in Myitkyina prison in northernmost Kachin State, said he fainted in his cell 10 days ago due to high blood pressure and is suffering from hepatitis.

"He lost consciousness for two hours on April 16 and his cellmates called for medical help. His cellmates revived him but he has not been given any proper medical checkup since," said sister-in-law Htway Htway, whose elder sister recently visited the detainee and said he looked pale and sick.

Htway Htway said the family has asked prison authorities to arrange a proper medical checkup for 48-year-old Zarganar, but their requests have been ignored.

Myanmar's military, which has held power since 1962, tolerates little dissent. It frequently arrests artists and entertainers regarded as opposing the regime. It ramped up its crackdown on the opposition after Buddhist monks led pro-democracy protests in September 2007.

The number of political prisoners has almost doubled to 2,100 since June 2007, according to international human rights groups. The most prominent among them is opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest and has spent more than 13 of the last 19 years in detention.

Zarganar was arrested in June last year after he gave interviews to foreign news outlets criticizing the junta's slow response to Cyclone Nargis, which left nearly 140,000 people dead or missing. He was convicted of causing public alarm and illegally giving information to foreign media.

Several activists including Zarganar _ whose name means "tweezers" and whose comedy routines are banned for their jokes about the junta _ delivered donated relief supplies to the storm-shattered Irrawaddy delta.

Zarganar was initially sentenced to 59 years in prison in November but the term was reduced to 35 years in February.