FROM THE DVB NEWSROOM

At least nine journalists were among those released during the Independence Day amnesty on Jan. 4, VOA reported. Former VOA affiliate Myit Makha Media Group had its editor Myo Min Tun freed. Myanmar Pressphoto Agency (MPA) photographer Kaung Sett Lin was also released, as previously reported. 

Human rights and press freedom organizations highlighted that approximately 50 journalists remain in prison. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) states that Burma is ranked the third-worst jailer of journalists globally, behind Iran and China for the number of reporters imprisoned for their work.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) rated Burma at the bottom of its 2023 World Press Freedom Index (173 out of 180) after Cuba and before Eritrea, two nations known for a lack of press freedom and freedom of expression.

The military’s latest amnesty resulted in the release of 9,652 detainees nationwide, including 114 foreign detainees who are set to be deported from the country. Among those released, only 200 were listed as political prisoners, constituting just 10 percent of the overall number freed. Some ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) officials were included in the amnesty.