Myanmar Now reporter among at least eight charged for covering anti-coup protests 

Myanmar Now reporter among at least eight charged for covering anti-coup protests 

Kay Zon Nway is being held at Insein prison and has been denied access to her lawyer

 

Myanmar Now journalist Kay Zon Nway is taken by police officers on February 27 in Yangon’s Sanchaung township (EPA)

At least eight journalists including Myanmar Now’s multimedia reporter Kay Zon Nway have been charged after being detained while covering anti-coup protests, according to lawyers and media reports. 

Kay Zon Nway was arrested on Saturday during a crackdown on a protest in Yangon’s Sanchaung township. 

Five others were detained in Hledan the same day. They were: Aung Ye Ko from 7Day, Ye Myo Khant from the Myanmar Pressphoto Agency, Thein Zaw from the Associated Press, Hein Pyae Zaw from Zee Kwat Media, and freelancer Banyar Oo.

All six have been kept at Insein prison in Yangon since their arrests and have been remanded in custody until March 12. 

 

 

Lawyers were informed about the charges on Tuesday but Nilar Khine, who will be representing Kay Zon Nway, said there was still confusion about what law the reporters have been charged under. 

It is either section 505(a) of the Penal Code or a newly added section 505A. The latter prohibits spreading “fake news” and carries a maximum sentence of up to three years in prison. 

 

 

Nilar Khine said that an Insein prison official told her to come back on Wednesday to submit her application for power of attorney.

“Parents and family members are not allowed prison visits since Covid-19 began… but we will ask for permission to meet with our clients because we will be representing them. I don’t know yet if I will be allowed,” Nilar Khine said.

Kay Zon Nway was charged at the Sanchaung township court and her first hearing is scheduled for March 12, when the plaintiff and defense will submit witnesses. The five others were charged at the Kamaryut township court.

Another two journalists from Monywa in Sagaing region were arrested and charged on February 25 and released on bail the same day, according to media reports.

At least 28 journalists have been arrested since the February 1 coup and 14 of those were released either on the same day or a few days later, according to Detained Journalists Information Myanmar, a project by journalists and writers.  

On Monday night, police and soldiers in Myeik raided the house of DVB reporter Aung Kyaw and arrested him, a live-stream he took of the incident showed. In the video, the reporter can be heard calling out for help amid loud bangs that sound like gunfire.

“I am hit in the head. Help me. Help me. Please bang the tin pots,” Aung Kyaw shouted in the video, which was broadcast on DVB’s Facebook page.

Family members later told local media that Aung Kyaw was dragged away by soldiers and police at around 10pm on Monday night. He had been covering deadly crackdowns on protests in the coastal town.

Myanmar Now was unable to confirm his current status or if he has been charged. 

Zeyar Hlaing, an editor at Mawkun Magazine, said the military council is arresting journalists to cover up its brutality against anti-coup protesters.

“Journalists do not have a choice but to report on something if it’s news,” said Zeyar Hlaing, who recently resigned from his position on the Myanmar Press Council after the coup to protest the new regime.

“They are pointing guns at whoever they see, attacking and arresting. It is like living in a lawless country. No one is safe. This situation is the most serious threat to the jobs of journalists,” he said.

 

Junta arrests two more journalists in Naypyitaw

Those arrested include a BBC reporter and a former Mizzima correspondent. 

Myanmar Now
Published on Mar 19, 2021
Photojournalists take cover near the entrance of a monastery where military supporters gathered to attack protesters and media in Yangon on February 18 (EPA-EFE/LYNN BO BO)

A BBC journalist and a former Mizzima News reporter were arrested by men believed to be plainclothes officers in Naypyitaw on Friday afternoon, a family member confirmed.

BBC Burmese journalist Aung Thura was in front of the Dekkhina District court to report on a hearing for National League for Democracy patron Win Htein when he was arrested. Former Mizzima correspondent Than Htike Aung was with him at the time of the arrest.

No further details of the arrest or the reporters’ detention were known at the time of reporting, according to Aung Thura’s relative. 

“I saw some plainclothes officers dragging away a person in trousers into a car,” lawyer Min Min Soe, who was near the court at the time, told Myanmar Now. The man she saw is believed to be Than Htike Aung.  

“Two other officers in plainclothes were hassling another individual in a paso [traditional sarong for men] and glasses,” she said, referring to Aung Thura. “It was quite a scene so I don’t know what happened next.”

BBC News issued a statement on Friday afternoon saying that they are "doing everything [they] can" to find Aung Thura, who they described as being taken away by unidentified men.

“We call on the authorities to help locate him and confirm that he is safe,” the statement said.

As of March 16, a total of 38 journalists had been arrested or targeted for arrest since the February 1 coup. The latest arrests of the BBC and former Mizzima journalists push this number up to 40.  

Only 22 of these reporters have been released. Ten journalists have been charged with violating Section 505(a) of the penal code, which has been used against people who are seen as causing fear, spreading fake news, or agitating government employees. Under recent amendments to the law, the charges come with a three-year prison sentence if convicted.

Online news website The Irrawaddy has also been charged by the junta as violating the same statute for showing “disregard” for the armed forces in their reporting of the ongoing anti-regime protests.

Five publications, including Myanmar Now and Mizzima had their offices raided and their publishing licenses revoked earlier this month by the regime.

Editor's note: This story was updated to include the BBC's statement, which was not available at the original time of publishing.

 

Myanmar Now

Myanmar Now is an independent news service providing free, accurate and unbiased news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and English.
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KIA attacks police bases in Hpakant

The offensives come in the wake of deadly crackdowns against anti-coup protesters in Myitkyina 

Myanmar Now
Published on Mar 18, 2021
A KIA soldier watches from an outpost in Kachin state in this undated file photo (Kachinwave) 

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) launched attacks against police bases in the jade mining region of Hpakant on Thursday morning, a local resident told Myanmar Now. 

The attacks targeted police battalions where soldiers were stationed near Nam Maw village in the Seik Muu village tract.

“There are Myanmar police battalions around Nam Maw,” a resident said. At least three bases were attacked, he added. 

A 41-year-old civilian in Seik Muu village injured his left hand during the clash, the Kachin-based Myitkyina News Journal reported.

The KIA has launched several offensives against the coup regime’s forces recently. Fighting has also been reported in Mogaung and Injangyang this month. 

Some 200 people fled the Injangyang villages of Gway Htaung and Tan Baung Yan on Monday after the KIA launched an offensive against the military there. 

The offenses began in the wake of deadly crackdowns against anti-coup protesters in Myitkyina. The KIA has warned the junta not to harm anti-coup protesters. 

 

Myanmar Now

Myanmar Now is an independent news service providing free, accurate and unbiased news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and English.
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Four shot dead, five injured during junta attack on protesters in Kalay on Wednesday 

The coup regime’s forces took the injured people away and locals do not know their whereabouts 

Myanmar Now
Published on Mar 18, 2021
Kalay residents move the body of a man who was shot dead on Wednesday (Supplied) 

Four young men were killed and five people were injured in the town of Kalay in Sagaing region on Wednesday as protesters continued their fight to topple the regime despite daily massacres across the country aimed at terrorizing them into submission. 

The Tahan Protest Group gathered in the town at around 10am and police and soldiers began shooting. One young man was shot dead on the spot as he tried to help people who were trapped amid gunfire, residents told Myanmar Now.   

The regime’s forces also shot at and chased fleeing protesters along roads and through narrow alleys, a resident said.

“The crowd of protesters dispersed but one person was shot dead while trying to rescue those trapped in the protest site,” the resident added. 

As the crowd dispersed, a man riding a motorcycle was shot outside a branch of KBZ Bank. “He also died,” the resident said. 

Despite the murders, protesters gathered again in the afternoon around 4pm. Police and soldiers started shooting again and killed two people. 

“They were shot dead while trying to set up barricades at the protest site. They were shot while trying to obstruct the army’s way as the army troops chased and shot the trapped protestors,” the resident said. 

The two who were killed in the morning were identified as Salai Kyong Lian Kye O, who was 25, and Kyin Khant Man, who was 27 and had three children. The identities of the other two have not yet been confirmed.

Five people were also injured and then taken away. Locals said they did not know where they had been taken.   

 

Myanmar Now

Myanmar Now is an independent news service providing free, accurate and unbiased news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and English.
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