Burmese blogger and owner of two internet cafés Nay Phone Latt has been sentenced to 20 years and six months prison, state Reporters sans frontières. Mr Latt maintained a blog. He wrote about the problems the younger generations have in Burma, especially after the widespread protests which surfaced in September of last year. According to RSF, charges against Mr Latt were filed on 7 July, after he had been arrested with several activists of Burma's National League for Democracy. Mr Latt's lawyer was jailed for criticising the proceedings of the special court which held the trial.

The Burma Media Association and Reporters Without Borders stated Mr Latt was severely punished for using the internet as a means to voice criticism."This shocking sentence is meant to terrify those who go online in an attempt to elude the dictatorship’s ubiquitous control of news and information, and we call for his immediate release. Saw Wai, for his part, is being made to pay for his impertinence and courage as a committed poet," said both organisations.

They called for "bloggers all over the world to demonstrate their solidarity with Nay Phone Latt by posing his photo on their blogs and by writing to Burmese embassies worldwide to request his release. Similarly, we call on poets to defend their fellow-poet, Saw Wai, who has been jailed just because of one poem."

Furthermore, poet Saw Wai received a two year sentence for a poem containing coded, indirect criticism of General Than She. Mr She is the head of the military junta and it seems anything bad said over him will make him feel inferior despite all the brass on his uniform, which is why such atrocious acts of the pen are forbidden. Mr She probably also believes that allowing any sort of criticism to spread will be bad for his regime and bank account. X

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