YANGON, MYANMAR (AP) – Authorities in Myanmar have accused Thein Zaw, an Associated Press journalist, and five other members of the media of violating a public order law that could detain them for up to three years. a lawyer said Tuesday.
The six were arrested while protesting against the military coup on February 1 in Myanmar that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The group includes journalists for Myanmar Now, Myanmar Photo Agency, 7Day News, Zee Kwet online news and a freelancer.
Attorney Tin Zar Oo, representing Thein Zaw, said the six were charged under a law that knowingly spreads fear among the public, knowingly spreads false news, or punishes them directly or indirectly for a criminal offense against a government employee.
The law was amended by the junta last month to increase its scope and increase the maximum prison sentence of two years.
AP’s Thein Zaw, 32, was arrested on Saturday morning in Yangon, the country’s largest city. He is reportedly being held at Insein Prison in northern Yangon, notorious for housing political prisoners under previous military regimes.
According to the lawyer, Thein Zaw was arrested by a court and he can be detained until March 12 without further trial or further steps.
The AP asked for his immediate release.
“Independent journalists should be allowed to report the news freely and safely without fear of retaliation,” Ian Phillips, AP vice president for international news, said after the arrest. “AP strongly condemns the arbitrary detention of Thein Zaw.”
The Committee for the Protection of Journalists has joined the profession.
“Myanmar authorities must release all journalists detained behind bars and stop threatening and harassing reporters because they are simply doing their job to cover up the anti-coup protests,” said Shawn Crispin, senior representative of South Asia. , said. “Myanmar may not return to the past dark ages where military rulers sent journalists to jail to stifle and censor news reports.”
Thein Zaw was arrested when police were charged with protesters gathering at a crossroads in Yangon that became a rallying point for protesters.
Authorities escalate their repression over the protesters this past weekend, with mass arrests and with deadly violence. UN human rights offices say they believe at least 18 people were shot dead in several cities on Sunday when security forces opened fire on protesting crowds.
The coup turned years of slow progress toward democracy after five decades of military rule.
In December 2017, two journalists working for the Reuters news agency were arrested while working on a story about the Rohingya minority in Myanmar. They were accused of possessing official documents illegally, although they argued that they had been drafted because of the official opposition to their reporting.
Although their case attracted international attention, they were convicted the following year and sentenced to seven years in prison. They were released in 2019 in a mass presidential pardon.