5/24/22, 8:02 PM 66(d): The defamation menace | Frontier Myanmar politician’s real account and the apparently fake one. Meanwhile, another 66(d) case was proceeding before the courts: that of political activist Ko Yar Pyae. He had been arrested in Yangon’s Hmawbi Township on May 22, 18 days after Nay Myo Wai, after a member of the Peace and Diversity Party submitted a complaint to police alleging that Yar Pyae had defamed the state counsellor, senior general, president and firebrand monk U Wirathu on Facebook. The complaint appeared to have been fuelled by a desire for revenge; the lawyer, Sandar Oo, alleged to Frontier that Yar Pyae created the apparently fake Nay Myo Wai account – an allegation that Yar Pyae rejects. When he was brought to trial, Yar Pyae’s defence team also argued that the offending account was fake. The outcome of the court case was very different, however. CID said that an investigation had confirmed the account was Yar Pyae’s, but did not provide details to the court of how it reached this conclusion, the activist told Frontier. Eleven Media CEO Dr Than Htut Aung has been denied bail repeatedly since being arrested in November under section 66(d). (Nyein Su Wai Kyaw Soe / Frontier) The case took almost exactly six months to conclude. On November 17, Yar Pyae – whose work focuses on helping rural communities, and includes cooperation with the NLD and 88 Generation Peace and Open Society – was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment. After serving another five days, he was released for time served. Yar Pyae said the cases highlighted the problems with both section 66(d) and the judicial system. “The authorities are always influencing the judiciary, so if you have power or a link with decision makers you have a better chance of winning. These two cases were the same, but he won and I lost … We need to consider who Nay Myo Wai is close to,” he said. “Section 66(d) is a threat to free speech on social media. We should be able to watch and criticize our leaders – that is our right – and in the 21st century everybody uses social media to do that.” A growing menace Nay Myo Wai’s case is exceptional. Of the 41 cases that have proceeded to court under section 66(d) to the start of the December, he is one of only three defendants to have been found not guilty, according to activists researching the issue, although a number of the cases are ongoing. Thirty-eight of the cases, or about 85 percent of the total, were submitted in the past nine months alone, since the NLD-backed government took office, a worrying trend under a democraticallyelected government, and particularly one that has such a high number of people who spent time in jail as political prisoners under the military junta. In many of the cases, the complainant has come from the military, and the alleged act of defamation targeted the Tatmadaw or its commander-in-chief, Min Aung Hlaing. In October, the head of Yangon Region Command, Lieutenant Colonel Lin Htun, filed a complaint to police against Ko Myo Yan Naung Thein, who leads the NLD research team, after he allegedy posted https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/66d-the-defamation-menace/ 2/10