2/24/26, 11:05 AM
World Report 2026: Myanmar | Human Rights Watch
and friends of activists as a form of coercion and collective punishment.
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The junta uses a sweeping counterterrorism law to crack down on aid workers, journalists,
and activists. Journalist Than Htike Myint was arrested in February, beaten during
interrogation, and sentenced to five years in prison in April on terrorism charges for having
contacts of opposition force members in his phone.
Rule of law has collapsed since the coup. Military authorities have imposed systematic
obstacles and restrictions on lawyers and abolished all semblance of an independent
judiciary. The junta uses special closed courts inside prisons for politically sensitive cases and
closed military tribunals in townships under martial law.
Political and Digital Repression
In July, the military announced it would hold elections in December 2025 and January 2026.
In preparation for the polls, the junta replaced the State Administration Council with the
State Security and Peace Commission and declared a new state of emergency and martial law
orders.
Also in July, the junta passed an “election protection” law criminalizing criticism of the
election, prohibiting any speech, organizing, or protest that disrupts any part of the electoral
process. Authorities arrested hundreds of people under the new law, including children.
The military has limited or no control over significant parts of the country; a census in 2024
was conducted in only 145 out of 330 townships. Polls were not held in 65 townships. Volker
Türk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, stated in September that “conditions do
not exist for free and representative elections.”
In January, the junta enacted a cybersecurity law that further restricts online content and
expands surveillance. The junta’s severe restrictions on internet and phone services, with
rolling shutdowns around the country—particularly in conflict areas—impeded access to
information, humanitarian efforts, and community protection, including in the wake of the
March earthquake.
With millions of Myanmar nationals having fled the country, the junta has cracked down on
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