A/HRC/7/24 page 8 21. Furthermore the Special Rapporteur received detailed information regarding the arrest of artists and other activists. Saw Wai was reportedly arrested on 22 January 2008 for writing a poem criticizing the military junta leadership. Two other poets reportedly arrested in January were Ko Ko Maung alias (Zaw Lu Sein) and Ko Min Han. The artist-guitarist (Ko) Win Maw was reportedly arrested on 27 November 2007. 22. In 2007, the commemoration of International Human Rights Day on 10 December coincided with the global year-long campaign leading up to the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. International Human Rights Day has traditionally been a date for commemorating the millions of human rights defenders around the world who struggle daily to protect and promote the rights of others as set up in the Universal Declaration. The Special Rapporteur deeply regrets that the human rights defenders in Myanmar were reportedly harassed for their preparations for the commemorations. The human rights defender Aung Zaw Oo, a member of the Human Rights Defenders and Promoters network, was reportedly arrested on 26 November 2007 while preparing materials for the commemoration. U Tin Hla, a member of the Federation of Trade Unions - Burma, was reportedly arrested with members of his family on 28 November for organizing and inciting the participation of railway workers in the September demonstrations. The Special Rapporteur was informed by the Government that Aung Zaw Oo had been charged under the Unlawful Association Act 1908 (17/1), Immigration (Emergency Provision) Act 1947 (13/1) and Penal Code section 505/B. The Government reported that U Tin Hla had been released on 25 October. He was reportedly rearrested on 28 November. 23. The Special Rapporteur is concerned about the numerous accounts of searching of political activists, human rights defenders and journalists and the reported reasons for their further detention, including allegations of possession of copies of his report to the Council. 24. At the time of finalization of the present report, the Special Rapporteur had received the names of 718 individuals arrested between August 2007 and February 2008 who were reportedly still being detained. That figure includes the 93 individuals confirmed by the Government during the Special Rapporteur’s mission in November 2007. The Special Rapporteur submitted an updated version of the lists submitted in December 2007 and, in particular, requested information concerning the 718 individuals, including the circumstances of arrest, places of detention, the legal grounds for detention, the charges, and a detailed account of their trials and convictions. B. Trials and convictions 25. At his meeting with the Attorney General in November 2007, the Special Raporteur expressed his concern at long-term detentions without legal guarantees for the detainees. He also stressed that everyone had the right to a fair trial in both civil and criminal cases and that effective human rights protection depended on access to competent courts that could administer justice. The principle of equality before the law must be guaranteed throughout the pretrial and trial stages, and everyone must have equal access to the courts to claim their rights. During his meetings with government officials, the Special Rapporteur observed that there was real reason to believe that the right to be presumed innocent of detainees was in jeopardy.