A secret court in military-ruled Myanmar sentenced popular comedian and activist Zarganar to 45 years prison on Friday, the latest in a series of lengthy jail terms handed down on more than 100 dissidents, relatives said. Zarganar, whose real name is Ko Thura, was detained in June after co-ordinating private aid in Yangon for the victims of Cyclone Nargis, which devastated huge swathes of the Irrawaddy Delta in May, killing 140,000 people.
Police seized his computer and several banned films, including the latest Rambo movie, featuring the US Vietnam War veteran taking on the former Burma's ruling military on behalf of Christian ethnic Karen rebels. "He got 45 years for only three charges. More sentences will be passed on four remaining charges on Monday," Zarganar's sister-in-law, Ma Nyein, told Reuters. The same court inside Yangon's notorious Insein prison also sentenced two other dissidents, including a prominent journalist, to 15 years in prison and another man to 29 years, Ma Nyein said.