Win Myint, Myanmar’s detained civilian president, received permission to see his wife for the first time in nearly a year late last month, according to a family friend.
The former leader, who is in his 70s, was in good health when his wife, Cho Cho, visited him at Taungoo Prison in Bago Region in the last week of October, the friend told Myanmar Now.
He has been held at the prison since January, when he was transferred there from an undisclosed location in Naypyitaw after being convicted by junta-controlled courts on multiple charges.
He is currently serving a total of eight years after receiving a partial amnesty in early August along with ousted state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, who has also been in junta custody since the military seized power in a coup in February 2021.
“They said that only one person could go, so Auntie [Cho Cho] went to meet him. He was in good health, but couldn’t speak freely as someone from the regime was by his side, taking notes,” said the friend.
While he did not elaborate on other conditions placed on the visit, the friend said that the family was required to submit a number of recommendation letters before getting a green light.
On October 24, the junta ended a three-year ban on prison visits first imposed as a measure to prevent the spread of Covid-19 among inmates.
Numerous restrictions remain in place, and some prisoners—including those on death row—were initially denied visits even after the ban was lifted.
Win Myint was at his official residence when he was arrested on the day of the coup for refusing to step down as leader of Myanmar’s elected government. He was reportedly threatened with “harm” for not complying with the military’s demands.
Other detained senior members of the deposed ruling party, the National League for Democracy, are still not allowed visitors, according to Myanmar Now’s investigations.
