A/HRC/16/59 34. Another prisoner is Mya Than Htike, a member of the National League for Democracy Youth group, arrested in 2007, who is reportedly in very bad health. At the time of his arrest he had a gunshot wound and was not immediately offered essential medical treatment. In November 2010 his sister found him to be unconscious when she tried to visit him at Taungoo prison. 35. The Special Rapporteur had expressed concern, in his press statement of 21 December 2010, about reports of prisoners in Block 4 of Insein prison suffering from malnutrition and tuberculosis. The Government replied that all 17 prisoners were in good health. The Special Rapporteur strongly recommends that Myanmar resume cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross, allowing prison visits to verify facts in these types of allegations. 36. The Special Rapporteur would like to remind the Government of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. Rule 22, paragraph 2, provides that: “Sick prisoners who require specialist treatment shall be transferred to specialized institutions or to civil hospitals. Where hospital facilities are provided in an institution, their equipment, furnishings and pharmaceutical supplies shall be proper for the medical care and treatment of sick prisoners, and there shall be a staff of suitable trained officers.” Furthermore, rule 25, paragraph 1, provides that: “The medical officer shall have the care of the physical and mental health of the prisoners and should daily see all sick prisoners, all who complain of illness, and any prisoner to whom his attention is specially directed.” 37. The Special Rapporteur urges the Government to halt the practice of transferring prisoners of conscience to remote locations, a practice that reportedly began in late 2008, and appears to be further punishment that deprives prisoners of regular family visits as well as crucial supplemental food and necessary medicine. This practice endangers prisoners of conscience, as they suffer additionally from these even harsher conditions of detention, and creates additional hardship for the families of the prisoners. 38. The Special Rapporteur would like to draw particular attention to Nilar Thein, a prominent human rights activist in Myanmar and a leading member of the 88 Generation Student Group, one of at least 177 women still imprisoned in Myanmar for exercising her fundamental rights to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. She has been arrested and imprisoned on three occasions. Most recently, Nilar Thein was arrested on 10 September 2008 and sentenced on 11 November 2008, along with 13 other activists, to 65 years’ imprisonment under the Unlawful Associations Act and the Electronic Transactions Act. In August 2007, the 88 Generation Students Group, along with other activists, had staged peaceful walking protests throughout Yangon. Nilar Thein and her husband, Kyaw Min Yu, had helped to lead these marches. In October 2007, Nilar Thein and three other prominent activists had signed a letter urging the United Nations to help protect women in Myanmar from human rights abuses and to ensure that the Government of Myanmar complied with its obligations under international law. 39. Nilar Thein was transferred to Thayet prison in Magwe Division, 340 miles from Yangon, on 20 November 2008. She has been held in solitary confinement. Kyaw Min Yu is also serving a 65-year prison sentence. He was transferred to Taunggyi prison in Shan State on 21 November 2008. In December 2008, Nilar Thein had sent authorities in Nay Pyi Taw a written request to be held in the same prison as her husband and to be able to be joined by their baby daughter, asking them to consider her request on compassionate grounds. The request was denied. On 6 December 2010 Nilar Thein’s sister-in-law travelled 340 miles to bring Nilar Thein’s 3-year-old daughter to Thayet prison for a visit. Despite the sister-in-law’s pleas, authorities would not permit the family to see Nilar Thein because she was on a hunger strike, which she subsequently ended on 10 December 2010. Family members believe that Nilar Thein currently suffers from eye and gynaecological problems, and that she has been denied urgently needed medical attention. 9