Nay Phone Latt

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Nay Phone Latt
MP
နေဘုန်းလတ်
Member of the Yangon Region Hluttaw
for Thingangyun Township
Assumed office
8 February 2016
Personal details
Born
Nay Myo Kyaw

(1980-06-28) 28 June 1980 (age 41)
Yangon, Myanmar
NationalityBurmese
Political partyNational League for Democracy
Spouse(s)Pyone Thar Myint
Alma materYangon Technological University
Occupation
  • Blogger
  • Politician
AwardsPEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award
Websitewww.nayphonelatt.com

Nay Phone Latt (Burmese: နေဘုန်းလတ်; born Nay Myo Kyaw on 28 June 1980) is a Burmese blogger and activist, currently serving as a Yangon Region Hluttaw MP for Thingangyun Township. He was a recipient of PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award[1] and selected for 2010 Time 100 list under Hero Categories.[2] From 2008 to 2012, he was detained at Hpa-An Prison and was listed as a political prisoner by Assistance Association for Political Prisoners of Burma.[3]

Background[]

Nay Phone Latt graduated with Engineering degree from Yangon Technological University. He worked in Singapore for a few years before he went back to Myanmar to start his Internet Cafe business. He is also a co-founder of Myanmar ICT for Development Organization (MIDO)MIDO, a local NGO focusing on ICT for Development, Internet Freedom and Civic Technology. He is now elected in the regional parliament representing the Thingangyun constituency.

Political imprisonment[]

Nay Phone Latt was arrested in January 2008 and sentenced to total of 20 years and 6 months in prison under Electronic act, creating public alarm and video act due to his alleged involvement in spreading news during 2007 Saffron Revolution using his blogs.[4] He wrote regularly in a Burmese internet magazine Thanlwin Ainmat (သံလွင်အိမ်မက်, Dream of Salween River) and his personal blog, The City that I have dropped (ကနော်လွတ်ကျခဲ့တဲ့မြို့တော်) before he was arrested. On February 20, 2009, his sentence was reduced on appeal to 12 years.[5] He was released on 13 January 2012 as part of a mass presidential pardon of political prisoners.[6]

International recognition[]

In 2010, Nay Phone Latt was awarded the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award, which honors "writers who have fought courageously in the face of adversity for the right to freedom of expression".[5]

In 2012, he participated in the International Writing Program's Fall Residency at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA.[7]

Political career[]

He successfully ran for a seat in parliament in 2015 general elections from National League for Democracy.[8]

References[]

  1. ^ "The 2010 TIME 100". Time. 2010-04-29. Archived from the original on May 2, 2010. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  2. ^ Bono (2010-04-29). "Heroes". Time. Archived from the original on May 2, 2010. Retrieved 2011-07-25.
  3. ^ "Data - Political Prisoners List". Assistance Association for Political Prisoners of Burma. Archived from the original on 2011-12-02. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  4. ^ "Burma blogger jailed for 20 years". BBC. 2008-11-11. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award". PEN American Center. 2012. Archived from the original on 27 October 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  6. ^ "Burma prisoner amnesty – Hla Hla Win walks". Democratic Voice of Burma. 2012-01-13. Retrieved 2012-01-13.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "2012 Resident Participants | The International Writing Program". iwp.uiowa.edu. Retrieved 2017-04-12.
  8. ^ Joshua Lipes (20 July 2015). "88 Generation Leader to Contest Myanmar Election Despite Pending Charges". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 21 July 2015.

External links[]

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