DOWNLOAD A PDF OF UA 147/19, UPDATE 4 HERE
Three members of the satirical poetry troupe Peacock Generation were among over 23,000 prisoners released in a general amnesty on Myanmar New Year, 17 April 2021. Arrested on 22 April 2019, they were serving between five-and-a-half and six-year prison sentences under a series of “incitement” and “online defamation” charges in connection with their satirical performances criticizing the Myanmar military.
No further action is requested. Many thanks to all who sent appeals.
Three members of the Peacock Generation, Paing Phyo Min, Paing Ye Thu and Zayar Lwin were released from Insein prison in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, on 17 April 2021. They were among reportedly over 23,000 prisoners released in a general amnesty on Myanmar New Year.
Arrested on 22 April 2019, Paing Phyo Min and Zayar Lwin were sentenced to six years in prison, while Paing Ye Thu was sentenced to five and a half years in prison after satirical performances criticizing the military. They were released after receiving a reduction of a quarter of their sentences in this year and last year’s Myanmar New Year amnesties. They were the latest members of the Peacock Generation released from prison.
Three other members of the Peacock Generation; Zaw Lin Htut, Su Yadanar Myint, and Kay Khine Tun, have already been released. Sentenced to between two years and two and a half years in prison, they were released on 26 June, 19 August, and 1 October respectively in 2020.
Members of the Peacock Generation were arrested after they performed Thangyat, a traditional art form in Myanmar, which fuses poetry, comedy, and music, and is usually performed during Myanmar’s New Year water festival in April and other festive occasions. They should have never been imprisoned for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression. They should have not spent a single day behind bars for peaceful satirical performances.
