Myanmar: UN human rights official urges junta to release journalists from illegal arrest

As journalists faced continuous assault by Myanmar's army chief Min Aung Hlaing, the United Nations top official appealed to Hlaing to release the scribes jailed for publishing stories against the leader. The appeal from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, came in response to American journalist Danny Fenster, who was jailed for practising his profession. She termed the jail term of the American journalist as emblematic of a wider plight of journalists in the country who have faced constant repression of the military coup since February this year.  

Notably, on November 12, Friday, a Myanmar court found the journalist guilty on several charges, including encouragement for allegedly spreading false information and sentenced him to 11 years in prison. According to the statement of lawyer Than Zaw Aung, the 37-year-old American journalist and-- the managing editor of an independent magazine called Frontier Myanmar-- was also found guilty of contacting "unlawful" organisations and violating visa rules. "Journalists have been under attack since February 1, with the military leadership clearly attempting to suppress their attempts to report on the serious human rights violations being perpetrated across Myanmar as well as the extent of opposition to the regime", news agency ANI quoted Commissioner for Human Rights as saying.

"Myanmar has quickly reverted to an environment of information control, censorship and propaganda seen under military regimes in the past," she added.

Nearly 47 scribes are still in detention

According to the UN rights chief, at least 126 media officials, including well-known journalists, have been detained since the junta ousted the democratically elected government and took over the control of the country since February 1, this year. Subsequently, the country has been witnessing mass protests and deadly violence. According to local media reports, the military has killed at least 1,252 people and arrested 9,979 people in the country.

"At least Forty-seven is still in detention, 20 of whom have been charged with crimes related to their work as journalists. Nine media outlets have had their licences revoked, while 20 others have had to suspend operations. Dozens of journalists are reportedly in hiding due to outstanding arrest warrants," highlighted Michelle Bachelet.

With inputs from ANI

Image: AP