[4] According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), he ran away from home at age 12 and was recruited as a child soldier by a military unit in Yangon.

[4] Gambira first became well known in August 2007 during widespread protests against the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the military government which had ruled the country since suppressing the previous uprising in 1988.

[5] On 24 September 2007, the All-Burma Monks' Alliance released a statement condemning the military government: "In order to banish the common enemy evil regime from Burmese soil forever, united masses of people need to join hands with the united clergy forces ... We pronounce the evil military despotism, which is impoverishing and pauperizing our people of all walks, including the clergy, as the common enemy of all our citizens.

"The regime's use of mass arrests, murder, torture and imprisonment has failed to extinguish our desire for the freedom that was stolen from us so many years ago.

[8] Gambira stated after his release that authorities had beaten him and deprived him of sleep during his imprisonment,[12] and Human Rights Watch reported that he was "badly tortured" and stripped of his monk's robes.

[b][8] In April 2008, Gambira's sister reported that he was leading a mettā chanting campaign among other imprisoned monks of Insein Prison to protest against their being issued "layperson" identification cards for the upcoming constitutional referendum.

[6] Tomas Ojea Quintana, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for Burma, visited Gambira and four other political prisoners at Insein in August.

[15] Gambira faced a total of sixteen charges for his role in the protests,[4][16] including membership in an unlawful association and illegal movement across borders.

[17][18] In October 2008, Gambira's lawyer, Aung Thein, resigned from his case, saying that the military government would not allow him the materials to prepare an adequate defence.

[26] The prize recognises "lawyers and campaigners who have fought repression or who have struggled to change political climates and perceptions, especially those who have used or established legal means to fight injustice in the field of freedom of expression", and is sponsored by Bindmans LLP.

[28] On 13 January 2012, Gambira was released in a mass presidential pardon of political prisoners that also included 88 Generation activists Min Ko Naing, Htay Kywe, and Nilar Thein, as well as Shan leader Khun Htun Oo.

[29] Gambira stated in an interview that his imprisonment had left him with depression, frequent headaches, and failing memory; however, he said he had difficulty finding a doctor willing to treat him, for fear that it would draw government reprisals.

[30] After breaking into and reopening several monasteries closed during the Saffron Revolution, Gambira was rearrested on 10 February during a 2 a.m. raid, and was released after a night in jail.

[34] On 6 March 2012, he was once again detained and interrogated over a recent visit he had made to Kachin State, where local ethnic minority groups were engaged in guerrilla warfare against the government.

[31] The following month, he was forced to formally cease to be a monk after several monasteries refused him membership, which he said was due to their fear of government reprisals if they were to allow him to enter.