Update on Journalism and Media Safety in Myanmar (April-June 2025)
Press freedom in Myanmar remains under severe threat, with journalists facing convictions, intimidation from both the junta and armed groups, and growing challenges in exile that further restrict independent reporting.
Highlights
No new arrests of Myanmar journalists were reported in the period April to June 2025, but there one journalist was convicted and three were released during this period.
Two Myanmar journalists were convicted during the second quarter of 2025. One was convicted under the Counter-terrorism Law and another was found guilty of incitement under Section 505A of the Penal Code.
The three journalists freed this quarter includes some of the ones arrested soon after the February 2021 coup, and have spent some of the longest times in detention since then. Two completed their prison sentences, and one was included in the amnesty announced by the military junta to mark Myanmar new year in April.
As of end-June 2025, a total of 59 journalists remained in jail. Since the coup, 223 journalists have been
arrested. There have been 11 journalists who have died, under different circumstances.
While getting information and talking to sources has been a challenge for journalists since the coup and the armed conflict, these became even more difficult in the wake of the deadly March earthquake that struck the country, according to reporters based inside Myanmar.
They say that the public is becoming less and less willing to share information with journalists, for fear that junta officials and their supporters are scanning news material to hunt for their sources and interviewees and then surveil, harass and/or arrest them. Local officials closely watch those who speak to journalists, investigate them and try to silence them.
Journalists and media advocates are concerned about the derogatory comments made by key figures of the Arakan Army, which controls most of the territory of north-western Rakhine State, against journalists and news work. In a Facebook post in June, Arakan Army Captain Tun Min Naing warned about taking legal action against media critical of the armed group. Journalists argue that the Arakan Army’s actions mirror the authoritarian behaviour and tactics used by the military junta.
Myanmar’s journalists have been experiencing one more challenge that comes with life in exile in
Thailand – stricter rules and screening that can limit their access to opening or maintaining bank accounts, which are important for their income. Several banks have tightened regulations and requirements for foreigners in Thailand, affecting Myanmar nationals, including exiled journalists, who use their bank accounts to receive income from digital platforms like YouTube or Facebook and donors, or pay freelancers.
Arrests
There were no reports of journalists arrested during the period April to June 2025.
Convictions
In the first week of April 2025, Than Htike Myint, a journalist from Myaelatt Athan, was convicted
under section 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law by the Myanaung Township Court in Ayeyarwaddy region. Sentenced to five years in prison, he was among the journalists who have been laid off by their media outlets after the suspension of grant funds from the US Agency for International Development at the start of the year.
In May, freelance journalist Pu Noi Tswams was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison for
incitement under Section 505A of the Penal Code, according to a reliable source. Her case was handled by a court inside Insein prison. She has been arrested in Yangon on 29 September 2024 after junta officials tracked down her IP address and SIM card. She faces other charges, including violations of sections 50(j) and 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law.
Releases
Three journalists were released this quarter. Among them were two who had been taken in by the military
within the first month or so after the February 2021 coup.
Soe Yarzar Tun, a freelance journalist, was released from Insein Prison on 1 April, after completing his
sentence under section 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law. He had been arrested twice. The first time was on 28 February 2021, while reporting on an anti-coup protest in Yangon. Held for more than four months, he was released in a prisoner amnesty in June 2021. On 10 March 2022, he was arrested for a second time in Bago city and sentenced to four years in prison under the anti-terrorism law.
Han Thar Nyein, co-founder and executive producer of Kamayut Media, was released from Insein prison
as part of the amnesty announced by the junta on 17 April 2025, as part of Myanmar’s new year. One of the longest-detained journalists since the coup, he had been arrested alongside fellow founder and editor-in-chief Nathan Maung on 9 March 2021 after soldiers raised the Kamayut offices. Han Thar Nyein was charged under Section 505A of the Penal Code and Section 33(b) of the Electronic Transactions Law. (An American citizen, Nathan Maung was released and deported in June 2021after being tortured for two weeks in an interrogation centre.)
Win Niang Oo, a journalist from Channel Mandalay, was released from Myingyan prison on 6 May 2025 after completing his prison sentence. Arrested in Sagaing, Mandalay on 30 August 2021, he was accused of incitement under Section 505A of the Penal Code. Although he was included in the junta’s Thadingyut amnesty on 18 October 2021, he was not released. Instead, he was prosecuted under Section 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law at the Sagaing Township Court. He was later transferred to the Oh-Bo Prison Court and sentenced to five years in prison on 5 April 2022.
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