U Gambira was a leader of the 2007 Saffron Revolution and a former political prisoner. He was arrested in 2007 and sentenced to 68 years in prison. He was brutally tortured and mistreated in prison, and has permanent health problems as a result. He was released in 2012.
On 19th January 2016, he was arrested by around 20 police officers at his hotel room in Mandalay. He was charged under the Burma 1947 Immigration Act for illegally crossing the border and entering the country. U Gambira, who now lives in Thailand, travelled to Burma to obtain a new passport, and he was able to cross the Thailand-Burma at an official crossing point without facing any problems.
He is currently being detained in Obo prison while his trial continues. He was refused bail despite the fact that he is suffering from physical and mental illness, which requires him to take regular medication.
Please take action to free U Gambira and all remaining political prisoners in Burma.
