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Ngwe Soe Lin before his arrest
An image from "Orphans of Burma's Cyclone"
The Trust is working with DVB to support Ngwe Soe Lin whilst he is in prison
DVB's Myo Min Naing announces Ngwe Soe Lin's detention at 2009 Awards
Ngwe Soe Lin: In Prison - Burma
There are often many overlaps between the charitable work that we do supporting freelancers and the cameramen and women that we honour during the Rory Peck Awards.
Learning about the situation of Burmese freelancer Ngwe Soe Lin at the 2009 awards ceremony was a sobering moment and brought into focus the courage, determination - and situation - of many freelance journalists working in Burma.
In May this year Burmese videojournalist Ngwe Soe Lin turned 30. His friends and colleagues at the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) held several parties to celebrate but at each of them the guest of honour was missing. Instead, the young freelancer marked the occasion in Burma's notorious Insein prison where he is serving a 13 year prison sentence. His crime? Filming and reporting stories in his own country.
We first knew of Ngwe Soe Lin as 'T', one of two anonymous freelance videojournalists (his partner was known as 'Z') who became finalists for the Rory Peck Award for Features in 2009. They had filmed a stunning documentary - Orphans of Burma's Cyclone - recording the lives of Burmese children left orphaned by Cyclone Nargis in 2008. They went on to win the award, but by that time, 'T' had been in detention for several months.
Ngwe Soe Lin was picked up by military intelligence on 26 June 2009 along with a friend in an internet café in Rangoon. After spending several weeks at the Aungthabyay interrogation centre, he was sent to Insein prison. Seven months later, on 27 January 2010, a special military court attached to Insein prison sentenced him to 13 years on charges related to the Electronics and Immigration Acts, which are often used to sentence independent journalists.
Ngwe Soe Lin is one of 17 DVB journalists currently imprisoned in Burma.
During the last 18 months the Trust has been working with DVB to give financial assistance to Ngwe Soe Lin and his family. A grant from us has helped provide food and medicines for the videojournalist (brought to him by his family on prison visits) and has also helped his family with basic subsistence and travel costs, enabling regular visits.
Recently DVB decided to go public about Ngwe Soe Lin's imprisonment to raise awareness of his situation and that of his colleagues. You can find our more here.
They also made this video to mark Ngwe Soe Lin's birthday using RPT awards footage:
