U Win Htein, a senior leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a special tribunal in Naypyidaw’s Dekkhina District Court on 29 October under Section 124-A of the Penal Code, his lawyer said.
U Win Htein was arrested on 4 February at his home in Yangon, three days after the military coup on 1 February. The military arrested U Win Htein as Oketarathiri District administrator, U Aye Lu filed a complaint against him under Section 124(a) of the Penal Code.
He is currently in Naypyidaw prison. “Being sentenced to 20 years, they cannot send him to Yamethin Prison. But I have no idea which prison he will be transferred to,” his lawyer added.
There are some speculations that U Win Htein would be transferred to Obo Prison in Mandalay.
The wheelchair-bound 80 years-old Win Htein has been using oxygen to support his breathing due to a heart condition. He also suffers from hypertension diabetes, and heart and thyroid diseases, according to a source close to the family.
Win Htein joined the NLD party in 1988 and has already spent over two decades in prison. He was elected to the Pyithu Hluttaw seat in April 2012 from his hometown, Meiktila Township.
