Human Rights campaigners from Chippenham and Calne are celebrating the release of their adopted Prisoner of Conscience Dr Min Kyi Win.

The North Wiltshire group of Amnesty International has been campaigning for five years for his release.

Dr Win, 45, is a medical doctor and Member of Parliament-elect in Burma. The military Government allowed parliamentary elections to take place in 1990 but never allowed the parliament to assemble.

In 1998 Dr Win was arrested, along with two other leading members of his party, the Mon National Democratic Front, after a letter was sent to the military Government calling for power to be transferred to the elected parliament.

He was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment with hard labour, but all three prisoners have been released 18 months early.

Amnesty member Dorothy Burbidge said: "Our main method was letters addressed to various Government ministers and officials, supplemented by two public meetings in Chippenham addressed by three Burmese and an Englishman who had been repeatedly imprisoned in Burma for demanding human rights."

At Chippenham folk festival the local Amnesty group collected signatures from 150 visitors on a huge birthday card for Dr Win.

All letter-writers and street collectors are invited to a celebratory party at the group's next meeting at 7.30pm on July 13 at the Riverhouse in St Mary Street, Chippenham.