A Wellington-based political refugee from Burma has won Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand's Human Rights Defender award.

Naing Ko Ko was presented the award in Auckland this evening after being selected from a short list of 16 nominees.

The award celebrates outstanding contributions to the defence, promotion or advancement of human rights in the Asia-Pacific region.

Amnesty International said Naing Ko Ko took part in the pro-democracy student demonstrations in 1988. He was arrested in 1992 and spent seven years in prison, where he was tortured by military intelligence officers - partly for trying to learn English.

"It was like high treason," he said. "Political prisoners were not allowed to read and write."

He fled to Thailand in 1998 upon release and was accepted as a refugee in New Zealand in 2006.

"I am very humbled to receive this award, but I know that with this honour, also comes a responsibility to continue our work to ensure the Burmese people can one day enjoy human rights, democracy and peace," he said.

This year he joined Amnesty International on its Freedom Campaign calling for the release of more than 2200 political prisoners.

Naing Ko Ko said the recent elections this year, won by the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, were anything but free and fair.

"They are totally sham elections run by the military junta to try to improve their international credibility."

(Source NZPA)