Violation of Media Freedom in February 2025
According to the media monitoring record of Athan, the local journalists have been tracked down and arrested by the military junta. In February 2025, 2 cases of lawless arrest of a journalist with the prosecution and brutal persecution of a convicted photojournalist in prison were found.
2nd time arrest of former journalist “Than Htike Myint”
Than Htike Myint Aka Aung Kaung Lin, a former journalist of Myat Latt Athan, was arrested at his home in Myan Aung township, Hinthata District, Ayeyarwaddy, on 6 February 2025 by the military junta. The journalist was first arrested in 2021 for a few days. While returning to his native town, Myan Aung from Myawady, where he temporarily lived for his wife giving birth, he was arrested for the second time in a row a month later.
After being interrogated in No. (51), Infantry battalion (Khalaya – 51) for 7 days, the military junta filed a lawsuit against him under the Section 52(a) of the Counter Terrorism Law on 12 February 2025.
Brutal persecution of photojournalist Sai Zaw Theik and two other political prisoners in Insein Prison
According to many media reports, imprisoned photojournalist Sai Zaw Theik from Myanmar Now, labor rights activist Thet Hnin Aung, and another political prisoner, Naing Win, agonizingly suffered from ill-treatment by the Insein prison authorities for disclosing the inhumane violations of human rights in prison to the junta’s human rights commission. The so-called Human Rights Commission visited Insien prison in October 2024 and January 2025 and met with the prisoners. As a consequence of the disclosure of abuses, In addition to being beaten and tortured, they were no longer held in ordinary prison cells. Still, they were transferred to prison cells with more harsh interrogation and conditions and were also forced to perform hard labor such as carrying garbage pails, carrying rocks, and digging.
The prison staff from the Prison Department under the junta’s command blocked the information of human rights violations in prison from leaking outside, and the political prisoners became their targets and got harsher oppression.
Photojournalist Sai Zaw Theik from Myanmar Now was atrociously arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison with severe laws while documenting Cyclone Mocha, which happened in Rakhine State in May 2023.
A Hpakant-based citizen journalist was attempted assassination
Tin Hlaing, a Hpakant-based citizen journalist, was attempted assassination by an anonymous shooter at noon on 28 February 2025 through journalist Naung Yoe’s report on Facebook. However, the assassination was not successful. He fought the assassin to death. Moreover, the shooter also ran away.
Most of Kachin State’s townships, including Hpakant Township, are controlled by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and the KIA has also arrested local journalists which resulted in limiting their ability to report news. However, it is not yet known which individual or organization committed the shooting.
Monitoring Media Repression in Myanmar
