May 28, 2008 (DVB), Solo protestor U Ohn Than, 62, has been suffering from cerebral malaria while in solitary confinement in Khandi Prison in Kachin State, according to a family member of a political prisoner.
U Ohn Than was arrested in August 2007 when he staged a solo protest by holding placards in front of the US Embassy in Rangoon, and was been sentenced to life imprisonment on 2 April 2008.
He had previously been jailed many times for his demonstrations and the life imprisonment was his sixth sentence.
The authorities moved U Ohn Than from Rangoon's notorious Insein Prison to Mandalay Prison on 23 April. He was later transferred to Khandi Prison where he has had little access to his family.
DVB was told that U Ohn Than's health is now deteriorating.
Reporting by Nan Kham Kaew