Nyi Nyi Lwin

Nyi Nyi Lwin (; born 19 June 1979), more widely known by his monastic name U Gambira , is a former Buddhist monk, activist and a leader of the All-Burma Monks' Alliance, a group which helped lead the 2007 protests against Burma's military government. Following the protests, he went into hiding and published two editorials critical of the Burmese government in The Washington Post and The Guardian on 4 November 2007. He was arrested the same day.

In November 2008, he was sentenced to 68 years in prison, including 12 years hard labour; the sentence was reduced to 65 years on appeal. Gambira reportedly protested his imprisonment by organising chanting with other imprisoned monks, boycotting his trial, and going on hunger strike. Human rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch also protested his imprisonment.

Gambira was released during a mass pardon of prisoners on 13 January 2012 as part of the 2011–2012 Burmese political reforms. He ceased to be a monk in April 2012, stating that he had been unable to find a monastery to join due to his status as a former prisoner. He was re-arrested at least three times in 2012.

Early life Gambira started attending school at age five, but the 1988 pro-democracy protests caused school closings that interrupted Gambira's schooling.

2007 protests and aftermath Gambira first became well known in August 2007 during widespread protests against the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the military government which had ruled the country since suppressing the previous uprising in 1988. The protests were sparked when the SPDC cut fuel subsidies without warning, causing fuel and other commodity prices to suddenly rise. Gambira, then a 29-year-old monk, became one of the new organisation's leaders. On 4 November, Gambira published editorials in The Washington Post and The Guardian calling for the international community to continue sanctions against Burma's leadership, for Russia and China to cease supporting the SPDC on the United Nations Security Council, and for Burma's people to continue to peacefully protest against the military rulers. "The regime's use of mass arrests, murder, torture and imprisonment has failed to extinguish our desire for the freedom that was stolen from us so many years ago. We have taken their best punch", he wrote in the Post.

Imprisonment Gambira stated after his release that authorities had beaten him and deprived him of sleep during his imprisonment, and Human Rights Watch reported that he was "badly tortured" and stripped of his monk's robes. He was subsequently placed in solitary confinement.

Gambira faced a total of sixteen charges for his role in the protests, including membership in an unlawful association and illegal movement across borders. In October 2008, Gambira's lawyer, Aung Thein, resigned from his case, saying that the military government would not allow him the materials to prepare an adequate defence. On one occasion, Gambira refused to appear in court himself, stating that the trial of a forcibly disrobed monk was disrespectful to Buddhism. In early 2009, five years were taken off his total sentence, reducing it to 63 years. and Amnesty International protested his sentence, calling for his immediate release.

Gambira was transferred to a labour camp in Sagaing Region. Democratic Voice of Burma reported that Gambira was being regularly beaten by guards during the same period and was having seizures as a result.

During his imprisonment, Gambira won the Bindmans Law and Campaigning Award in absentia at the 2008 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards. The prize recognises "lawyers and campaigners who have fought repression or who have struggled to change political climates and perceptions, especially those who have used or established legal means to fight injustice in the field of freedom of expression", and is sponsored by Bindmans LLP. Also in 2008, the official website of Morbegno, Italy announced that Gambira had been made an honorary citizen of the town.

2012 release and re-arrests On 13 January 2012, Gambira was released in a mass presidential pardon of political prisoners that also included 88 Generation activists Min Ko Naing, Htay Kywe, and Nilar Thein, as well as Shan leader Khun Htun Oo. Gambira stated in an interview that his imprisonment had left him with depression, frequent headaches, and failing memory; however, he said he had difficulty finding a doctor willing to treat him, for fear that it would draw government reprisals.

After breaking into and reopening several monasteries closed during the Saffron Revolution, Gambira was rearrested on 10 February during a 2 a.m. raid, and was released after a night in jail. Authorities announced that he was undergoing investigation for illegally squatting at the Maggin Monastery in Yangon's Thingangyun Township without officially registering with the Ministry of Religious Affairs after his release, and for breaking and entering the Sasana Theikpan and Sasana Gonyi Monasteries in Bahan Township.

On 6 March 2012, he was once again detained and interrogated over a recent visit he had made to Kachin State, where local ethnic minority groups were engaged in guerrilla warfare against the government. He was released two days later. The following month, he was forced to formally cease to be a monk after several monasteries refused him membership, which he said was due to their fear of government reprisals if they were to allow him to enter. He then returned to his birth name of Nyi Nyi Lwin. The US Embassy released a statement on the arrest, saying, "We're monitoring reports of U Gambira's detention. We urged the government of Burma to be fully transparent and follow due process of law". Gambira's family believed that he had been arrested to prevent him from joining protests by a group of monks against a copper mining project.

On 19 January 2016, he was arrested in Mandalay on a politically motivated charge of illegal border crossing. He was sentenced without evidence to 6 months in prison. The Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said that the deprivation of liberty of Gambira was arbitrary, being in contravention with Articles 10 and 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; it falls within category II of the categories applicable to the consideration of the cases submitted to the Working Group. He was released on 1 July 2016.

Personal life Gambira, who disrobed in 2012, was living in Thailand after being re-arrested several times in 2012 and 2016. He married Marie Siochana, an Australian citizen in 2013. On 8 March 2019, Australia granted him asylum. His biography, NARAKA: The U Gambira Story, written by Marie, was published in 2020.

Health problems He has been recovering from serious physical and mental health issues, including complex post-traumatic stress disorder.