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Alert

Imprisoned blogger Zarganar transferred to remote prison

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association strongly condemn comedian and blogger Zarganar's transfer, on 4 December 2008, from Insein prison, near Rangoon, to Myitkyina prison in the northern state of Kachin. After an initial sentence of 45 years in prison and then an additional 14-year sentence, his transfer to a remote northern prison is tantamount to a third heavy sentence.

Conditions in Myitkyina prison, located 1,000 km north of Rangoon, are said to be particularly harsh, above all because of the region's climate. "It was very cruel of the government to do this," Zarganar's sister-in-law, Ma Nyein, said. "It will now be very difficult for the family to make frequent prison visits."

Zayar Thaw, a famous hip hop singer who was arrested in March and was sentenced to six years in prison for participating in last year's anti-government demonstrations, was transferred from Insein prison to Kawthaung prison in the far south of the country on 3 December. Aged 27 and a member of the hip hop group Acid since 2000, Zayar Thaw became politically active in 2007 and created a new dissident group called Generation Wave.

Updates the Zarganar case: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/98938