YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Authorities in Myanmar have accused Associated Press journalist Thein Zaw and five other members of the media of violating a public order law that could have them in prison for up to three years, a lawyer said on Tuesday. .
The six were arrested while covering protests against the February 1 military coup in Myanmar, which overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The group includes journalists from Myanmar Now, Myanmar Photo Agency, 7Day News, Zee Kwet online news and a freelancer.
Lawyer Tin Zar Oo, who represents Thein Zaw, said the six were charged under a law that punishes anyone who causes fear among the public, knowingly spreads false information or agitates directly or indirectly for a crime against an employee from the government.
The law was amended by the junta last month to broaden its scope and increase the maximum two-year prison sentence.
AP’s Thein Zaw, 32, was arrested Saturday morning in Yangon, the country’s largest city. He was said to be detained at Insein prison in northern Yangon, famous for housing political prisoners from previous military regimes.
According to the lawyer, Thein Zaw was detained in custody by a court and could be detained until March 12 without another hearing or further action.
The AP asked for his immediate release.
“Independent journalists should be allowed to report the news freely and safely, without fear of retaliation,” said Ian Phillips, AP vice president for international news, after the arrest. “The AP condemns in the strongest terms the arbitrary detention of Thein Zaw.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists adhered to this call.
“Myanmar authorities must release all journalists kept behind bars and stop threatening and harassing reporters for merely doing their job of covering street anti-coup protests,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior representative in Southeast Asia. “Myanmar must not return to the dark ages of the past, where military officials arrested journalists to smother and censor the news.”
Thein Zaw was arrested while police attacked protesters gathered at an intersection in Yangon that became a meeting point for protesters.
The authorities escalated their repression about the demonstrators last weekend, making mass arrests and using lethal force. UN human rights offices said they believed at least 18 people were shot dead on Sunday in several cities when security forces opened fire on protesting crowds.
The coup reversed years of slow progress towards democracy, after five decades of military rule.
In December 2017, two journalists who worked for the Reuters news agency were arrested while working on a story about Myanmar’s Rohingya minority. They were accused of possessing official documents illegally, although they argued that they were framed for official opposition to their reporting.
Although their case attracted international attention, they were sentenced the following year and sentenced to seven years in prison. They were released in 2019 in a mass presidential pardon.