Photo: Protests in Myanmar

The World Daily | News Desk           MAY  14th   2021

A court in Myanmar, ruled by the military junta, sentenced a journalist of the independent radio and television broadcaster Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) to three years in prison, his employer said, quoted by Kyodo.

Min Nyo, 51, was arrested on March 3 as he covered a protest in Pegu, in the central part of the country, against the February 1 military coup. He was charged with inciting social unrest. The verdict was delivered on Wednesday. DVB was stripped of its broadcasting license on March 8 and banned from reporting on any platform but continued to broadcast messages on the suppression of democracy by troops from neighbouring countries such as Thailand.

Amnesty International's (AI) Emerlynne Gil said in a statement that the Min Nyo sentence "shows the terrifying situation facing journalists in Myanmar, where they risk their lives and freedom to shed light on the abuses of the military."

"Min Nyo's conviction must be overturned, and he himself should be released immediately, along with all other journalists, activists and human rights defenders imprisoned and detained solely for peacefully opposing a military coup," she called.