American Gets 5 Years in Myanmar Prison

Nyi Nyi Aung, a naturalized American citizen, was sentenced in a Myanmar court to five years in prison and hard labor on charges that he carried a fake I.D. and two other offences—charges human rights groups say are bogus. He will serve the terms concurrently, meaning he’ll be imprisoned for three years. Nyi Nyi Aung had spent 20 years working for democracy in the country, and a spokesperson for the American embassy in Myanmar said, “We believe the charges were politically motivated.” U.S. human rights group Freedom Now urged the Obama administration to push for Nyi Nyi Aung’s release. He will take his place among 2,100 dissidents who’ve been jailed for opposition to the military government in Myanmar.