A report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the number of political prisoners in Myanmar, also known as Burma, has more than doubled over the past two years.

The rights organisation says Burma's military rulers launched a crackdown after the peaceful protests in 2007 and large groups of people including Buddhist monks, union members and journalists were sentenced to long terms in prison. The report says more than 2,250 political prisoners are currently languishing in Burma's jails.
 

Human Rights Watch called on Burma's military junta to free all political prisoners before the 2010 elections. The generals announced plans for elections next year but a date has not yet been set. Noble laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is Burma's best-known political political prisoner. Her National League for Democracy won the 1990 elections by a landslide but the generals refused to relinquish power and she has been either in prison or under house arrest for at least 14 of the last 20 years.