In a surprise Friday announcement, the Tatmadaw said that it will be dropping charges it had brought against six journalists, including a high-profile “unlawful association” case it had brought against two reporters from DVB and one from The Irrawaddy news outlet.

But for many civil rights activists who had called for parliament to repeal the Telecommunications Act, lawmakers have failed to tackle the issue.

Following more than two months’ detention, The Voice Daily’s chief editor Kyaw Min Swe was released on a 10 million kyats ($7,350) bail by a Rangoon court on Friday morning, according to the defendant’s lawyer.

Swe Win was remanded in custody and escorted to Mandalay, where Maha Aung Myay court agreed to release him until his trial begins on 7 August.

The prominent Burmese journalist Swe Win was arrested at Yangon International Airport on Sunday evening as he attempted to leave Burma, with authorities justifying his detention on the grounds that he faces trial on charges of defamation.

A court in Rangoon this week added to the legal woes of the chief editor and a regular satire columnist for The Voice Daily newspaper, accepting a lawsuit brought against the pair under Burma’s News Media Law.