The Independent Press Council Myanmar (IPCM) has documented that a total of seven journalists have been killed and over 200 have been arrested by the regime, which seized power after the 2021 military coup, while 43 journalists are still being held in detention with 11 of them serving long-term prison sentences, including life imprisonment.
“There is still a lot of missing information about detained journalists. We will continue our database work, not just to assist but to ensure that those arrested and tortured like criminals will one day face justice,” Nan Paw Gay, the IPCM chairperson, told DVB after the press council released a statement on Saturday
The IPCM added that the regime has unjustly arrested journalists and charged them under the Penal Code, the Unlawful Associations Act, the Telecommunications Law, the Immigration Act, the Export-Import Law, the Explosive Substances Act, the Natural Disaster Management Law, and the Counter-Terrorism Law.
The regime has also revoked the media licences of 15 news agencies, including the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), Mizzima, The Irrawaddy, Khit Thit Media, Myanmar Now and 7Day News.
In November 2021, amendments to the Television and Radio Broadcasting Law allowed the regime to appoint its officials to the Broadcasting Council.
It amended the original law, drafted in 2015, to introduce a maximum punishment of five years in prison, in addition to fines, for broadcasting without a licence. This includes broadcasting online.
This month, the regime announced its long-awaited cybersecurity law, which targets circumvention tools such as Virtual Private Networks (VPN). These allow netizens to bypass blocked websites and social media platforms by hiding users’ online activity from internet service providers.
Myanmar netizens have turned to VPNs to access banned news websites and their social media accounts. The regime blocked access to Facebook and several news websites following the 2021 coup.
The IPCM was established in Chiang Mai, Thailand in December 2023 to promote media freedom in Myanmar, enhance security and protection for journalists.
