YANGON (AFP) — Twenty-three pro-democracy activists arrested during anti-junta demonstrations in Myanmar last year were sentenced to 65 years each in jail by a special court on Tuesday, a family member said.
The activists were sentenced during a closed-door hearing at the notorious Insein prison on the northern outskirts of the military-ruled country's commercial hub of Yangon.
"Altogether 23 activists were sentenced today at Insein prison. They were sentenced to 65 years each," a family member told AFP on condition of anonymity.
A spokesman for the opposition party of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi confirmed that at least 14 activists were sentenced to 65 years but had no further details.
In neighbouring Thailand, a group that defends political prisoners in Myanmar said that 14 of those sentenced were members of the so-called "88 Generation."
The term applies to students who led an uprising 20 years ago in Myanmar that was crushed by the military with the loss of an estimated 3,000 lives. Many of them served years in jail after those demonstrations.
"The sentence was handed down at around 1pm, behind closed doors in Insein prison special court. Family members were not allowed to attend the hearing," the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) said in a statement.
The military regime changed the country's name from Burma to Myanmar in 1989.
Some "88 Generation" members started new demonstrations in Yangon in August 2007 after the authorities abruptly hiked fuel prices. Dozens of them were arrested.
The following month, Buddhist monks took up the leadership of the protests, which were again subject to a brutal crackdown. According to the United Nations, 31 people were killed.
The sentences come a day after a prominent Myanmar blogger arrested after the anti-junta protests last year was jailed for 20 years while a poet was given two years behind bars.
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