Gambira aka Nyi Nyi Lwin, a prominent figure in the 2007 monk-led Saffron revolution protests, has been freed from prison after serving a six-month sentence for violating immigration laws.
He was arrested for making cross-border trips to Thailand where he was receiving medical assistance for post-traumatic stress syndrome brought on by his previous time in prison after the 2007 protests. Many believed the immigration charge was politically motivated.
Gambira was freed on Friday after completing the sentence and after additional charges of trespassing and vandalism were dropped. The newest accusations were tied to 2012 after he was amnestied and tried to live in old monasteries.
“Today, the prosecutors dropped the charges against me at Bahan and Thanlyin township courts and the six months’ term I was serving is also due — I am happy to be free,” Gambira told DVB on Friday.
“Now I can get on with my medical treatment,” he added.
Pictures circulating on social media showed him smiling with friends and relatives and his lawyer, Robert San Aung.
Since Aung San Suu Kyi’s government took power in April, scores of political prisoners have had their cases dropped or freed on pardons and amnesties.
Suu Kyi said in April that it would be one of the government’s first priorities, but Gambira’s case was not included in the initial round of releases in April.
