International human rights groups have called on Burma's military rulers to release a journalist and political activist on the 16th anniversary of his jailing.
U Win Tin is Burma's longest-serving prisoner of conscience. He began serving a 20-year prison term on the fourth of July, 1989.
In recent statements, Amnesty International and the Reporters without Borders rights groups said U Win Tin should be eligible for release in three weeks with time off for good behavior.
The groups said U Win Tin has been denied basic rights during his time in detention, including humane treatment in prison.
The groups said the award-winning journalist was imprisoned because of his senior position in detained Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.
