World News | Myanmar court convicts journalist wounded by army on second charge, extends sentence to 13 years

BANGKOK, May 31 (AP) – A court in military-ruled Myanmar has sentenced a 34-year-old journalist to violating the country’s anti-terrorism laws, adding 10 years to the three-year sentence she received in December for filming a horror film. Year. According to her lawyer and a family member, it was an anti-military protest.

The conviction of Hmue Yadanar Khet Moh Moh Tun, a video reporter for the online Myanmar News Photo Agency, is the latest move against press freedom by the country’s ruling military, which has been cracking down on independent media since Aung San’s democratically elected government seized power in February 2021. San Suu Kyi.

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According to Reporters Without Borders, Myanmar has one of the highest numbers of journalists jailed in the world, second only to China, and ranks last on the watchdog’s World Press Freedom Index — 173 out of 180 countries this year.

“By imposing an additional 10-year prison sentence on Hmu Yadanar, the junta led by Gen. Min Aung Hlaing has once again demonstrated the scale of the tyranny against journalists in Myanmar,” said Daniel Bastard, head of the news department in Paris . headquartered the group’s Asia Pacific Service Desk, said in a statement on Tuesday.

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“We urge the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, to take up this highly emblematic case in order to seek effective international sanctions against its military rulers.”

Journalists in Myanmar have faced extreme danger since the takeover, as the junta criminalized many aspects of reporting and arrested more than 150 journalists, forcing many others into hiding or exile.

The licenses of at least 13 media outlets were revoked and some 156 journalists were arrested, 50 of whom remain in custody. Of the detainees, 31 have been convicted and sentenced.

At least four journalists were killed in custody and others were tortured.

Most of the detained journalists have been charged with incitement — defined as causing fear or spreading false news that leads to public hatred of the government and military — punishable by up to three years in prison.

Others have been held under anti-terrorism laws, which carry penalties ranging from 10 years in prison to the death penalty.

The army takeover sparked massive public protests, and the army and police responded with lethal force, leading to armed resistance and an escalation of violence that plunged Myanmar into civil war.

Lawyer Hmue Yadanar, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals from authorities, told The Associated Press that the Thingangyun court in the east of Yangon, the country’s largest city, sentenced his client to 10 years in prison on Friday, including for allegedly supporting a major resistance group. Hard labor under the country’s anti-terrorism laws. The ruling military council has declared such groups terrorist organisations.

Lawyers said the defense had proven that allegations that she had financial ties to the resistance were untrue, but the judge said the evidence was inconclusive.

Hmue Yadanar decided not to appeal, he said.

The latest conviction brings the total time she must serve to 13 years after Hmue Yadanar was sentenced to three years in prison and hard labor for sedition, along with her colleague Kaung Sett Lin, a photographer for the photo agency, in December. Year.

In December 2021, she was arrested along with Kaung Sett Lin and nine protesters after a military vehicle plowed into a peaceful flash mob march against military rule in Yangon.

Two journalists were struck by a speeding vehicle while taking photos and video at the back of the protest march.

Hmue Yadanar’s left ear was cut in half, his left cheek was torn, his left ankle was fractured in three places and he needed 15 stitches for a head wound.

She received a metal implant in March at Insein Prison in northern Yangon to repair a broken left leg but still walks with a cane, according to a family member who asked not to be named.

“There was only one case before so we could be firm in our minds. But she received another sentence and we feel sorry for her. She told us not to worry too much and be strong. All we can do now is pray for her release as soon as possible, ’ she said on Wednesday.

“The conviction shows the military council’s clear attitude and intentions towards journalists. Press freedom is now far away,” commented J Paing, founder and editor of the Myanmar News Photo Agency, which is forced to operate underground. (Associated Press)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the body of content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)