Khin Maung Zaw

Last updated
U
Khin Maung Zaw
Born1948
Alma mater Mandalay University
Occupation Human rights lawyer

Khin Maung Zaw (born 1948), [1] known honorifically as U Khin Maung Zaw, is a Burmese lawyer and human rights activist based in Myanmar. [1] [2] He represented Aung San Suu Kyi, [3] among other Myanmar nationals who receive undemocratic trials. [4]

Biography

Zaw was born in Pyinmana in 1948, [5] soon after British rule in Burma ended. As a student at Mandalay University, he attempted to form a students' union, which had been banned during the ruling of Ne Win. [1] For his activism, he was sent to a prison camp on the Coco Islands. In 1972, he was released, until being re-imprisoned for two years in 1978 for joining a student protest. He obtained a degree in law from Mandalay University at age 37. [1]

In 2017, Zaw took represented two Reuters journalists who were imprisoned for uncovering a massacre of Rohingya muslims. [6]

Zaw serves as the lawyer for Aung San Suu Kyi, a former state counsellor of Myanmar who played a vital role in the country's transition to partial democracy, [7] who was charged for several offences. [8]

When Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won elections in 2015, beginning a precarious power-sharing with the military, Khin Maung Zaw distanced himself from the political party. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Beech, Hannah (2021-07-02). "This Lawyer Loses Most of His Cases. And He's Proud of It". The New York Times . Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  2. "Myanmar lawyer U Khin Maung Zaw shortlisted for human rights prize". Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada. 2021-06-04. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  3. Peck, Grant (2021-10-15). "Myanmar bars Suu Kyi's lawyer from talking about her cases". Associated Press . Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  4. Barron, Laignee (2017-10-30). "Myanmar Detained a Team of Journalists for Flying a Drone". TIME . Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  5. "Aung San Suu Kyi's lawyer soldiers on in Myanmar 'in defence of democracy'". The Straits Times . 2021-02-23. ISSN   0585-3923 . Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  6. Lewis, Simon (2019-03-26). "Myanmar's top court hears Reuters reporters' appeal in official secrets case". Reuters . Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  7. Kyaw, Min Ye; Ratcliffe, Rebecca (2023-03-28). "Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party dissolved". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  8. "Aung San Suu Kyi's lawyer says he has been barred from speaking about her case". The Guardian . 2021-10-15. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-02-17.