Around midnight on December 13, Myeik-based journalists Aung San Oo and Myo Myint Oo from online news portal the Tanintharyi Weekly Journal, published by regional media agency Dawei Watch, were arrested at their homes members of Myanmar’s military. An arrest warrant has yet to be produced and no official reason for the targeting of the journalists has been disclosed.
According to a statement from Dawei Watch, the two journalists are currently detained at a local interrogation centre.During the arrest, members of the junta confiscated the journalists' phones, as well as their family members' phones and two laptops belonging to Dawei Watch.
The editor of Dawei Watch, who requested anonymity due to concerns about potential retaliation from the military, said that the journalists were arrested three days after returning home from hiding, and that military personnel had told family members that the journalists were arrested for their reporting.
Myanmar remains one of the worst jailers of journalists globally, and in 2023, the IFJ documented more than 60 journalists jailed in the country. Since the junta’s ascension to power in 2021, independent journalists in Myanmar have been threatened, tortured, jailed and killed, and independent news outlets have been raided and forcibly shuttered. More than 140 reporters have been arrested and the junta has denied at least 12 news agencies’ broadcasting licenses.
On September 6, a military tribunal in Yangon handed photojournalist Sai Zaw Thaike a sentence of 20 years in prison. On October 29, the offices of Sittwe-based independent news outlet Development Media Group were raided and shuttered by the military personnel, reporter Htet Aung and a security guard were arrested, and cameras, computers, and documents were seized.
The MJN said: “Myanmar ranks as the world's second-worst country for journalist arrests. In Myanmar, journalists face arrests and imprisonment, impacting others in the field. The detained journalists may not receive independent trials, as sentences are often predetermined, leading to intimidation of their families and co-workers.”
The IFJ said: “The military junta must cease its unrelenting, targeted attacks against independent journalists and media workers. Reporting is not a crime and the junta’s intimidation and harassment of the country’s media further cements its utter disregard for press freedom. The IFJ condemns the arrest of the two journalists, calls for their immediate release, and urges global governments, civil society organisations, and development actors to increase their efforts in support of independent Burmese media.”