February 2021 over social media posts criticizing the coup.253 phones and found purported criticism of the coup, according to a February 2022 report.261 At least 959 students, 165 civil society workers, and 465 politicians were detained as of April 2022, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.254 Research released by Free Expression Myanmar found that of over 2,400 people detained, charged, or sentenced under Articles 505 or 505A between February 2021 and January 2022, 25 percent were health-care workers, 13 percent were educators, and 9 percent were in creative fields, including music.255 At least 60 prominent celebrities were on warrant lists as of April 2021.256 Many did not engage in political commentary until the February 2021 coup.257 For example, actors Eaindra Kyaw Zin and Pyay Ti Oo were sentenced to three years’ imprisonment in April 2021 for encouraging civil disobedience against the coup via social media in April 2021; they were pardoned in March 2022.258 Those who have evaded being brought into custody have faced other penalties. For example, authorities confiscated the home of Thalun Zaung Htet, the editor of online outlet Khit Thit Media, in February 2022.262 Users were arrested during the coverage period for supporting protesters. Between late January and early February 2022, at least 193 people were detained for encouraging a general strike, including people who supported the strike on social media (see B8).259 In February 2022, a senior police officer was detained for condemning military brutality against protesters in a December 2021 social media post.260 Members of the public were also detained on the street after the military searched their Penalization of users was also common before the coup, to a lesser extent. In January 2021, just before the coup began, the military filed a criminal defamation lawsuit under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law against the editor of Rakhine-based Development Media Group for posting a story about military corruption online.263 In December 2020, high school student Maung Tin Chan was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for incitement under Article 33(b) of the Electronic Transactions Law, having published critical Facebook posts related to the conflict in Rakhine State.264 Also in December, Thinzar Than Min was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment under Article 505(a) of the penal code for alleging that the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party was corrupt.265 In February 2020, Kay Khine Tun, Paing Phyo Min, and Su Yadanar Myint of the poetry troupe Peacock Generation received sixmonth prison terms under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law for sharing images of and live-streaming their performances, which satirized the military, on social media.266 ် ပ်မ/ - ြမန်မာ2ိင 4 င ် ံ Free Expression Myanmar (FEM) and Freedom House - Freedom of the Net: Myanmar - အင်တာနက်ေပ*တွင် လွတလ

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