A former leader of university student pro-democracy protests in the mid-1990s, he had been questioned at length by military intelligence officers, and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment in Myanmar.
Released after six years, he and his family remained under surveillance by military authorities.
He was denied a passport, prevented from completing his degree at Rangoon University, and denied employment.
Aung Khaing Min (37), who was in Dunedin yesterday, during his first visit to New Zealand, said the journey across the Myanmar-Thai border - including a walk across a border bridge- was "just a short 15 or 20 minutes".
"But it was the longest 15 minutes of my life.
"My heart was pounding. If I got caught I would be imprisoned for over 20 years, and if I could make it I'd be free," he said.
He now lives in Thailand, close to the Myanmar border, in an area which is a centre of opposition to the Myanmar Government, but where there are considerable risks of kidnappings and assassination.
He visited New Zealand's Parliament last week, meeting members of the foreign affairs, defence and trade select committee and Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry officials.
A motion which he saw being passed in Parliament last week unanimously calling for an improvement in human rights in Myanmar was a "very positive" step.
He noted that New Zealand representatives would be attending a series of meetings with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Hanoi, on October 28-30.
It was important New Zealand urged Asean members to apply pressure to the Myanmar Government to bring back genuine democracy, he said.
Myanmar was heading for national elections on November 7, but these were a sham, with many people disenfranchised and also prevented from contesting the election and more than 2200 political prisoners still held in prison.
His visit to New Zealand has been funded by Amnesty International as part of its Myanmar "Freedom" campaign.
He attended a meeting of Amnesty International members in Dunedin last night and will give a public talk at Otago University's Arts Building, Burns Lecture Theatre 2, Albany St, at 6.30pm today.
