A Myanmar photojournalist who worked for the independent outlet Myanmar Now has been sentenced to 20 years in prison by the country’s military authorities, his employer said on Wednesday.
Sai Zaw Thaike has been under arrest since May, when he was reporting on the aftermath of Typhoon Mocha. The storm has killed more than 140 people off the coast of Myanmar and Bangladesh, most of whom belong to the persecuted Rohingya minority and live in refugee camps.
What are the charges against Sai Zaw Thaike?
It is not yet clear, what charges the journalist was convicted of. Following his arrest in May, he faces charges under four different laws, including the natural disaster law and the telecommunications law.
Myanmar Now journalists expressed their criticism. “His sentencing is yet another sign that press freedom has been completely eroded under the rule of the military junta,” editor-in-chief Swe Win said in a statement.
Myanmar Now describes itself as an independent news agency working underground to avoid repression by the military junta.
ASEAN, US condemn violence in Myanmar
Myanmar’s military, already a key player in the country’s governance, took full control in a coup against the government led by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party in 2021, and has since dismantled the civil society.
Reports of the journalist’s conviction came just a day after Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders discussed Myanmar’s political crisis at their annual summit meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Myanmar is a member of ASEAN but was not invited to the regional meeting for the second year in a row.
In a joint statement on Tuesday, ASEAN members “urged the Myanmar Armed Forces in particular, and all relevant parties concerned in Myanmar to reduce violence and stop targeted attacks of civilians, houses and public facilities, such as schools, hospitals, markets.”
US Vice President Kamala Harris weighed in to support the statement. “The United States will continue to press the regime to end the horrific violence to release all those unjustly imprisoned, and to rebuild Myanmar’s path towards inclusive democracy,” he said at the ASEAN summit in Jakarta last Wednesday.
One of the deadliest countries for journalists
Myanmar is one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists according to advocacy groups.
Activists of the Detained Journalist Group reported that more than 150 journalists have been arrested, and four media workers have lost their lives since the coup.
Myanmar’s military leadership has yet to comment on Sai Zaw Thaike’s sentence, but it rejected a joint statement by ASEAN countries, saying: “Views are not objective and decisions are biased and one-sided. .”
fg/msh (AFP, AP, Reuters)
