A court inside Yangon’s Insein Prison sentenced journalist Sithu Aung Myint to three years with hard labor, the very same sentence handed to BBC producer Htet Htet Khine, whom he was arrested with in August 2021. The Frontier Myanmar columnist was convicted of violating Section 505(A) of the Penal Code for “inciting crimes against civil servants,” sources close to his family and the court told Radio Free Asia (RFA). “His health is good but he lost weight. Being a writer, he writes what he sees and there is nothing else to say. I don’t have any updates about the other charges he is facing,” a source close to his family said.

Sithu Aung Myint is still facing a charge of sedition under Section 124 of the Penal Code. The maximum punishment is life imprisonment. Htet Htet Khine is still facing a charge of violating the colonial-era Unlawful Associations Act. Since the 2021 coup, 135 media personnel have been arrested with 70 being released. Twenty-nine journalists have been sentenced to jail terms of up to 11 years.