Myanmar military arrests more journalists in media crackdown-editor

Mexan

20/01/2022 11:30

Jan 20 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military has arrested three
people working for the independent news portal Dawei Watch, an
editor at the publication said on Thursday, the latest
detentions under a media crackdown that has occurred since last
year's coup.
    Moe Myint, a 35-year-old journalist and a mother-of-three,
was detained on Tuesday in Dawei, a city in southern Myanmar,
said the editor, who asked not to be named due to the
sensitivity of the issue.
    Another journalist, Ko Zaw, 38, and Thar Gyi, a 21-year-old
web designer at the publication, were arrested on Wednesday. 
    "They are currently being held at a police station in Dawei
and the reason for their arrest is still unknown," said the
editor, who called for them to be released immediately.
    A spokesman for the ruling military junta did not respond to
a request for comment.
    The junta has previously said it respected the role of the
media but would not allow reporting it deemed false or likely to
cause public unrest. 
    The military has rescinded media licences, imposed curbs on
internet and satellite broadcasts and arrested dozens of
journalists since its Feb. 1 coup. 
    Myanmar ranked as the world's second-worst jailer of
journalists in a report published by the Committee to Protect
Journalists.
    Reporting ASEAN, a Southeast Asia media advocacy group, said
since the coup 115 journalists had been detained and 44 remained
in detention and three had died. 
    Some foreign journalists have also bee detained, including
American journalist Danny Fenster https://www.reuters.com/world/american-journalist-fenster-out-prison-myanmar-employer-says-2021-11-15,
 who was the managing editor of independent online magazine
Frontier Myanmar.
    Fenster was sentenced to 11 years in prison last November
for incitement and violations of laws on immigration and
unlawful assembly, before being released following negotiations
between former U.S. diplomat Bill Richardson and the junta.  

 (Reporting by Reuters Staff; Editing by Ed Davies and Alex
Richardson)