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Update on Journalism and Media in Myanmar July - September 2023 About this Brief This is an update on the challenges and threats to press freedom and media independence in Myanmar, safety issues around journalists and individuals in the news profession, and relevant events and issues in the country’s news and information environment since the military coup of 1 February 2021. This brief is produced using verified information, including the tracking of incidents and discussions with journalists and media professionals, to document and provide context for a better understanding of the country’s news and information situation. Some definitions In the monitoring work for this series of updates, an incident is a verified event that involves action against a journalist due to his or her journalistic activities or background, such as arrest, detention, prosecution, death, torture and acts of violence, surveillance, harassment and/or threats. Incidents include similar actions against other individuals working in independent newsrooms and news- related operations, such as news management and other administrative, creative and support personnel who are part of the production and distribution of journalistic products. They are called “news workers” in these monitoring updates. Also included in incidents are actions taken against newsrooms, news organisations and their websites and online spaces, independent associations of professional journalists and press clubs. These include the cancellation of publishing licences, raids on news outlets’ premises and their prosecution and the blocking of websites. In this series of updates, a journalist is an individual who is engaged in gathering and reporting, taking photographs or video footage, editing or publishing and presenting news that has been produced using professional and independent journalistic standards and methods. A journalist may be in news work as a livelihood, whether paid or not, in different types of media and platforms, and have different types of professional arrangements, such as being fulltime staff, freelance, a stringer or occasional contributor. Included in the journalists covered by the monitoring work are individuals who have been described as being former journalists, or who have left their news organisations. This is for two reasons: first, being or having been a journalist in Myanmar by itself is a risk, and persons have been targeted or arrested because of a past affiliation with a news outlet; second, safety considerations can require an individual’s description as a former journalist. 8

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Update on Journalism and Media in Myanmar

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Language

English

Topic

Digital Rights
Digital Surveillance
Disinformation
Information Operation
Military Coup

Author(s)

Athan

Date Published: Dec 14, 2023

Abstract: Highlights Three journalists were arrested and one photojournalist was convicted under Myanmar’s military regime during July to September 2023. This photojournalist, who works for Myanmar Now, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted under four charges in September. This is the longest combined prison term handed down to a journalist since the military coup of February 2021. The conviction of another individual, The Irrawaddy’s news publisher, is included in this quarter’s update, but he was sentenced at the end of June. During this quarter, there were reports of attacks on two other news persons - a reporter and a former journalist – in northern Kachin state, where insecurity has been running high amid the escalation of decades-long conflict between the Myanmar military and armed ethnic organisations. The motives behind these two attacks are unknown. The reporter sustained injuries after the motorcycle he was riding on was hit by a car, while the former journalist died from gunshots fired at him while he was on his motorbike. One former editor, in detention since April, was released in July. As of end-September 2023, 59 journalists remained behind bars. Since January 2023, a total of eight journalists have been arrested and six journalists have been convicted. The majority of the convictions continue to be under Section 505A of the Myanmar Penal Code, which penalises incitement against government and security forces, causing fear among the public and spreading false news. Journalists continue to work in dangerous situations in Myanmar’s continuing conflict, where they face challenges in physical and digital safety, gathering news, and economic security. In Rakhine, there are fresh signs that the space for news work is shrinking further in a region whose media community faced restrictions even before the coup. In the third quarter of 2023, journalists, along with civil society and other activists, were the subject of tighter security checks, more frequent random checks and a stepped-up hunt for them after the Rakhine regional authorities circulated a list of individuals wanted for a mix of security-related crimes.

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Update on Journalism and Media in Myanmar

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