On July 23, 2024, Rev Hklam Samson was released from prison after serving over a year of a six year prison sentence.
Reverend Samson was first arrested in December 2022 as he attempted to fly to Thailand for medical treatment. On April 7, 2023, he was sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted of ‘unlawful association, incitement and counter terrorism’, under the ‘Unlawful Association Act’ of the Penal Code, and of the ‘Terrorism Act’.
According to Burma News International, he was released on April 17, 2023, along with 3,300 other prisoners under a general amnesty, but then rearrested the following day and taken back to prison.
Rev Samson is internationally respected for his work for freedom of religion or belief and human rights in Myanmar. He previously faced prosecution after meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss religious freedom in Burma in July 2019.
He is now back home with his family.
