Two journalists detained by the junta earlier this month have been hit with fresh charges for criticising the coup regime and supporting the underground National Unity Government (NUG), army-controlled media reported over the weekend.
Sithu Aung Myint, a Frontier Myanmar columnist and contributor to Voice of America, now faces a charge of sedition under section 124a of the penal code on top of an outstanding incitement charge.
Htet Htet Khine, a freelance producer for BBC Media Action, has been charged under section 17(1) of the unlawful association act for associating with the NUG, which the junta labels a terrorist group.
The journalists were arrested at an apartment where they had been hiding in Yangon’s Bahan Township on August 15. Sithu Aung Myint has been evading arrest since April 24, when the coup regime opened a case against him under section 505a for incitement.
The army-controlled Global New Light of Myanmar said on Sunday that the prominent columnist had supported “terrorist groups” while encouraging people to join the Civil Disobedience Movement and spreading “fake news” about a junta-controlled lottery scheme.
The report said Htet Htet Khine had harboured Sithu Aung Myint in her home. It also accused her of working as an editor for a radio channel run by the NUG called Federal FM. BBC Media Action said in a statement that it was concerned for Htet Htet Khine’s safety.
The junta has not disclosed the journalists’ whereabouts but Sithu Aung Myint’s lawyer last week said he had been taken to an interrogation center.
Sithu Aung Myint’s wife, Naw Than Myint, said she is worried for her husband’s health as he underwent minor surgery on his nose two months ago and suffers from gout and asthma.
“Everybody is doing the job that they believe in. I think he did a good thing so I have nothing to say about his arrest,” she told Myanmar Now.
Media rights group Reporters Without Borders condemned the arrests. “We strongly condemn the arbitrary conditions of their detention, which reflect the brutality with which the military junta treats journalists,” said Daniel Bastard, the group’s Asia Pacific director.
