The regime granted an amnesty on medical grounds to Win Khaing, the jailed Minister of Electricity and Energy in the National League for Democracy (NLD) government, which was ousted in the 2021 military coup.
Win Khaing, 74, was released from Mandalay’s Obo Prison on Monday and is now receiving medical treatment at the Intensive Care Unit of Mandalay General Hospital, according to a source close to the regime’s Prison Department.
“His condition has worsened this year. The Prison Department submitted the case to the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Home Affairs then submitted it to senior officials, who then granted the amnesty,” the source told DVB on the condition of anonymity.
The source added that Win Khaing had previously been admitted to Mandalay Hospital due to his deteriorating health condition in 2023, but was later moved back to Obo Prison.
Win Khaing had previously served as the NLD Minister of Construction in 2017 and was later appointed as Minister of Electricity and Energy in 2018. He was arrested in the capital Naypyidaw following the Feb. 1, 2021 coup.
Once detained, Win Khaing was convicted on Dec. 8, 2021 under the Anti-Corruption Law on allegations of misusing approximately six billion kyat ($129 million USD) of state funds that were allocated for a hydropower project.
A Naypyidaw military court sentenced him to 28 years in prison and he was later transferred to Mandalay’s Obo Prison.
Former Mandalay Chief Minister and NLD Vice Chair Zaw Myint Maung, who was serving a 29-year sentence at Obo Prison, was granted an amnesty on medical grounds to receive treatment for leukemia at Mandalay Hospital on Oct. 6. He died the following day.
Over 123 elderly political prisoners, including 39 NLD party members, are being held in prisons nationwide since the 2021 coup without adequate healthcare, according to an NLD Central Executive Committee.
“They face daily life-threatening conditions in prison due to inadequate basic healthcare, proper accommodation, food, and medicine,” Kyaw Htwe, an NLD Central Executive Committee member, told DVB.
The NLD has documented that at least 107 of its members have been killed and 2,181 have been arrested since 2021, including President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.
At least 1,497 NLD members remain behind bars. Kyaw Htwe expressed particular concern about the health condition of party leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is 79 and has been held incommunicado by the regime in Naypyidaw. Her son, Kim Aris, continues to call on the regime to provide her proper medical care and demands her release.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) has documented that 103 political prisoners have died in prisons across the country, including 63 due to the lack of adequate medical care, since the 2021 coup.