The International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists for press freedom, today condemned the arrest of Myanmar editor Nay Myo Lin and the blocking of number of websites in Myanmar.
According to , Nay Myo Lin, editor-in-chief of the Voice of Myanmar, based in city of Mandalay, was arrested by authorities at his home on March 30 and produced in court the next day. He has been charged under anti-terror law for publishing an interview with the spokesman of the Arakan Army (AA), a rebel group engaged in armed struggle for greater autonomy for the ethnic Rakhine community. AA has recently been listed as an unlawful association and a terrorist group by the government.
If found guilty, a minimum of three years in prison and a maximum life sentence. Nay Myo Lin鈥檚 next court hearing is scheduled for April 9.
鈥淲e urge Myanmar to drop charges against Nay Myo Lin and release him, as well as lift the block on the Voice of Myanmar鈥�, IPI Director of Advocacy Ravi R. Prasad said. 鈥淓quating a journalistic interview with an act of terrorism is deeply dangerous and shows a fundamental misunderstanding of press freedom and the work of journalist.鈥�
The Voice of Myanmar鈥檚 website has been blocked along with other media outlets that are covering the ongoing fighting in Rakhine state. Some 730,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled a military crackdown in the state since 2017, according to .
The army in Myanmar has continuously filed cases against publications covering the conflict. A week ago, the army dropped a criminal complaint against the Reuters news agency over a story of death of two Rohingya Muslim women as a result of shelling by the military.
Myanmar鈥檚 communication ministry mobile operators to block dozens of websites claiming the sites publish 鈥渇ake news鈥� and contribute to instability in the country.
[海角乱伦大神 background_color=”” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”” padding_right=”” hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”our-network-links” id=””][one_full last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”#e6eef0″ background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_position=”all” border_size=”2px” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding=”10px” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=”newsletter-row”][fusion_text]
Sign up for IPI’s Weekly Digest on censorship and media freedom
[/fusion_text][fusion_text][mc4wp_form id=”4739″][/fusion_text][/one_full][/海角乱伦大神]