Myanmar: Three more PEC journalist imprisoned, PEC denounces military crackdown

The global media safety and rights organization Press Emblem Campaign denounces Myanmar’s (also known as Burma and Brahmadesh) military junta’s continuous crackdown on the media and demands the unconditional release of all scribes imprisoned following the infamous military coup on February 1, 2021.

Three journalists were imprisoned in the third week of March 2022 for covering anti-junta demonstrations around Myanmar, according to local media outlets in Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar’s former capital city. The number of media professionals arrested (or detained) in Myanmar has recently risen to 125, with roughly 50 still behind bars.

For allegedly drafting false news, the three Burmese journalists, Than Htike Aung (Mizzima), Han Thar Nyein (Kamayut), and Ye Yint Tun (Myanmar Herald), were sentenced to two years in prison. On March 19, 2021, Aung, a member of the Mizzima gang, was arrested. Nyein, who co-founded the Kamayut news site, was also arrested on March 9th. Tun, a digital journalist for the Myanmar Herald, was arrested on February 28th of last year.

“The military regime in Naypietaw has treated the journalists as its enemy, while the media workers are doing their job only. The Burmese generals must respect the scribes and facilitate them to perform duties without fear and trepidation,” said Blaise Lampen, the president of PEC, adding that the international community should also pay attention to the hardship faced by journalists in Myanmar.

The military regime has previously canceled the permits of Mizzima, Democratic Voice of Burma, Myitkyina News Journal, Myanmar Now, 7Day News, Khit Thit News, and others, according to PEC’s south-east Asia representative Nava Thakuria. To avoid being apprehended, they are now operating from outside the nation. To continue working as journalists, a considerable number of journalists have sought refuge in neighboring countries such as Thailand, Bangladesh, and India.