The list of 1,572 political prisoners is available on the AAPP website (aappb.org) and includes political prisoners whose current whereabouts have been verified and those whose locations are still under investigation.

There are two stages to the political prisoner verification process.

The first, beginning in September 2011, confirmed that the motivation behind the arrest of each individual in AAPP’s database is political. From this stage, we have documented 1,572 individuals who meet AAPP’s official criteria for a political prisoner. The second stage, still underway, involves verifying the current whereabouts and updating the status of the 1,572 political prisoners who have been arrested and are strongly believed to be in prison. So far, AAPP is able to provide evidence verifying 918 political prisoners are in prison and the exact location of their prison.

The verification process is currently underway, and this does not mean there are only 918 political prisoners in Burma. AAPP maintains that the number of political prisoners is likely much higher, given the lack of access and reliable information in remote ethnic areas, monasteries, and during periods of mass arrests, compounded by the absolute lack of prison transparency in Burma. AAPP is committed to ensuring each political prisoner is accounted for; it is important that not one political prisoner is sacrificed for political expediency.

Of importance is that at least 1,572 individuals have been victims of a politically motivated arrest and imprisoned for exercising their most basic fundamental freedoms. That the fate of these political prisoners would remain unknown where it not for the work of opposition and exiled groups such as AAPP is indicative of the lengths the U Thein Sein regime will go to mislead the public on the status and numbers of political prisoners in Burma.

2011.12.23 AAPPB Political prisoner list is now 1,572 – location of 918 confirmed and documented

2011.12.24 Mizzima - political-prisoners-number-1572-aapp
2011.12.23 AAPPB Burmese version Bur ျမန္မာ