2.5.b. Threatening Journalists Following the coup, journalists across the country were arrested during covering the protests. Some faced physical violence and threatening. This section highlights some cases of intimidated journalists. In early February, SAC’s forces threatened some reporters in Ayeyarwady Region not to cover news on the ground. They warned that shootings and killings would not be their responsibility, as the journalists responded to the assessment. The women-only hostel, where a female reporter from a Shan State-based news agency live, was intruded climbing over the brick wall at midnight. The intruders raided the hostel, and investigated mobile devices, threatened, and robbed money. A journalist from Pyay was also threatened to be killed before he was violently arrested. Most of the arrested journalists were threatened when they were arrested or interrogated.4 2.5.c. Displacement of Journalists at the Risk of Interrogations and Arrests Journalists, editors, and reporters, from a Mon State-based news agency moved from their home to safe places in border areas at the end of February. After the chief editor’s house was raided, and the police force tried to arrest his colleagues including the agency founders and journalists. The journalists brought their families and fled to the safe areas. On March, journalists from an Ayeyarwady Region-based news agency have been forced to flee from their homes since March when the military council tried to arrest the chief editor and editor-in-charge. During the month, they found the search had continued, and they fled to the border area for their security concern for sustaining their journalism works. Reporters from several Rangoon-based news media have also fled to safe areas, border areas or foreign countries. Journalists form a news agency based in Kalay, Chin State, also fled to abroad due to the arrests. After raiding the office and investigating and arresting the journalists of a Shan State-based news agency, they decided to flee across the border. Journalists from a Kachin State-based media outlet had also fled to abroad and to other safer areas as journalists have been searched and arrested. 4 Source: Surveying 17 news media and 80 journalists and facts collected from media reports. Repeated Dark Age of News Media 13