A military court has sentenced a Myanmar journalist to life imprisonment, says the magazine's editor

BANGKOK (AP) — A military court in Myanmar has sentenced a local journalist to life in prison and sentenced one of his colleagues to 20 years under an anti-terrorism law, the publisher said Wednesday.

The sentences against Myo Myint Oo and Aung San Oo of the independent online news service Dawei Watch appear to be the most severe imposed on a journalist since the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. The seizure of power sparked armed resistance and an ongoing civil war.

According to the Paris-based press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders, Myanmar is one of the countries in the world where the highest number of journalists are imprisoned. The country ranks 171st out of 180 on the press freedom index, which puts it at the very bottom.

Last week, two freelance journalists in Myanmar were killed, One of them was reportedly captured when security forces raided the home of one of them in the southern state of Mon. Several local resistance fighters were also killed.

Myo Myint Oo, 41, and Aung San Oo, 49, of Dawei Watch were arrested separately last December in their homes in the coastal town of Myeik, about 560 kilometers south of Yangon, three days after returning from hiding.

The military government has not commented on their cases.

Kyaw San Min, editor-in-chief of Dawei Watch media house, told the Associated Press on Wednesday that Aung San Oo was initially sentenced to 20 years in prison by a military court in Myeik prison in February and Myo Myint Oo was sentenced to life imprisonment by the same court in May, but he could not provide further details.

He said both men were convicted under Myanmar's anti-terrorism law, but the circumstances were unclear. The law punishes acts of violence and “acts of exhortation, persuasion, propaganda and recruitment of persons to participate in terrorist organizations or terrorist activities.”

Kyaw San Min said the information about the verdicts had been received some time ago, but he had withheld it until now because he was concerned about the safety of the men's family members. He did not elaborate.

“The sentences imposed on the two journalists are quite harsh. It is very unfair to sentence journalists to such high penalties,” said the editor.

Kyaw San Min said a total of five reporters and a columnist from Dawei Watch had been arrested since the army launched a crackdown on independent media after seizing power. Three of the journalists have since been released.

Most media outlets, including Dawei Watch, now operate semi-covertly, publishing their reports online as their staff try to avoid arrest. Others work from exile.

Dawei Watch posted a statement on its Facebook page on Tuesday strongly condemning the military government for illegally arresting, interrogating and detaining the journalists without granting them the right to a fair defense under the law.

“We demand their immediate release,” they said.

The statement said security forces told Myo Myint Oo and Aung San Oo that they would be arrested for their reporting and confiscated their laptops and phones.

The two were beaten for four days in a detention center before being taken to prison, the statement said. The AP and others have reported how Some prisoners are tortured after her arrest.

“Such extreme court rulings are designed to instill fear in all reporters and will have a chilling effect on Myanmar's independent media,” Shawn Crispin, Southeast Asia representative for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, said in an emailed statement.

At least seven media workers in Myanmar have been killed and others tortured since the military took power, according to media workers in Myanmar who have been following the situation. They say at least 15 media outlets have had their licenses revoked and at least 172 journalists have been arrested. About 40 to 50 are still detained and half of them have been convicted.

Most of the arrested journalists were charged with incitement, allegedly spreading fear, spreading false news, inciting hatred against government officials, or violating the anti-terrorism law.