Myanmar journalist jailed for 20 years for reporting on aftermath of storm

A military tribunal in Myanmar sentenced a photojournalist to 20 years in prison with hard labour for covering the destruction in the aftermath of a cyclone.

This sentencing comes amid the military’s aggressive clampdown on independent media since it overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

Sai Zaw Thaike, an employee of the independent online news service Myanmar Now, has been reportedly handed over the most severe sentence for any journalist since the military coup.

The 40-year-old journalist was arrested in late May in Rakhine state while he was reporting on the deadly cyclone Mocha, which killed over 140 people, mostly those from the persecuted Rohingya community.

After his arrest, Sai Zaw Thaike was interrogated for nearly a week in Sittwe and Yangon, before being transferred to the notorious Insein prison in mid-June, Myanmar Now said.

The proceedings took place inside the Insein prison and Sai Zaw Thaike was denied family visits, while prison authorities restricted parcel deliveries addressed to him. He was also denied legal representation throughout his detention, according to the news outlet.

"His sentencing is yet another indication that freedom of the press has been completely quashed under the military junta's rule, and shows the hefty price independent journalists in Myanmar must pay for their professional work," Swe Win, the editor-in-chief of Myanmar Now said.

"We will not waver in our commitment to continue providing news and information to the people of Myanmar, despite the immense challenges we are facing," Swe Win said from exile.

While specifics of the charges against the photojournalist were not immediately clear, the initial indictment included charges for misinformation, incitement, and sedition.

"Burma officials should quash conviction, immediately and unconditionally release Sai Zaw Thaik," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch.

The journalist was also charged with online defamation, which is punishable by three years of imprisonment, and with violating a Natural Disaster Management law for allegedly spreading false information about a disaster with the intention of causing public panic.

“Myanmar authorities’ grotesque 20-year sentencing of Myanmar Now journalist Sai Zaw Thaike on blatantly bogus charges is an outrage and should be immediately reversed,” said Shawn Crispin, a senior Southeast Asia representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

“Myanmar’s junta must stop imprisoning members of the press for merely doing their jobs as reporters."

Sai Zaw Thaike is the second Myanmar Now journalist to be arrested by the junta since the February coup. Kay Zon Nway was earlier arrested while covering an anti-coup protest in Yangon in 2021 and was later released.

At least 13 media outlets, including Myanmar Now, have had their media licences revoked and at least 156 journalists were arrested, about 50 of whom remain detained, according to the local monitoring group Detained Journalists Information. Nearly half of those still in custody have been convicted and sentenced.

At least four media workers have been killed and others were tortured while in detention.

The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders said in April that Myanmar is the world's second-biggest jailer of journalists, behind only China. The country ranks near the bottom of the group's 2023 World Press Freedom Index, placing 176th out of 180 countries.