Burmese blogger receives 20-years prison for poem about dictator

A blogger, a poet, and a lawyer from Burma (Myanmar) all received prison sentences for a poem that contained a hidden message criticizing Burmese dictator Senior General Than Shwe.

Mr Saw Wai's poem, entitled '14th February', was ostensibly a Valentine's Day verse published last January in a popular weekly magazine. "You have to be in love truly, madly, deeply and then you can call it real love," it read. "Millions of people who know how to love, please clap your hands of gilded gold and laugh out loud."

But the first word of each line spelled out a pithier message about the leader of the country's military government: "Power Crazy Senior General Than Shwe". Mr Saw Wai was arrested the next day and charged with harming "public tranquility".

Blogger jailed for 20 years over poem that mocked Burmese dictator