"...Despite the release of democratic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest again during 2002, and the release of many members of the National League of Democracy from imprisonment, the people of Myanmar continue to be denied even the most basic rights to freedom of expression. While most of those released from political detention had served full seven or fourteen-year terms, others who in the last year have raised their voices in opposition to the military regime continue to be sentenced to similar periods..."