Asia-Pacific News
Myanmar dissident monk released after questioning
Feb 11, 2012, 2:59 GMT
Yangon - Myanmar police released a dissident Buddhist monk after holding him for questioning over his campaign to re-open monasteries shuttered after the 2007 protests, authorities said Saturday.
Gambira, one of 302 political prisoners freed in an amnesty on January 13, was detained for questioning Friday but released, officials confirmed.
The outspoken dissident had been reopening monasteries closed by the government after the uprising. He had refused to respond to a summons from the Ministry of Religious Affairs over the matter, sources said.
The monk, 32, whose given name is Sandawbartha, was a leader of the protests in 2007 when thousands of Buddhist monks marched to protest against the military junta.
He was arrested that year and sentenced to 68 years in jail, including 12 of hard labour.
Many Buddhist monasteries in Yangon were closed after the protest, which ended in an army crackdown that left at least 32 people dead and many monks under detention.
The government on Friday reopened several monasteries that had been shuttered for the past four years, according to officials who asked to rmeain anonymous.
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