Press freedom? Photojournalist in Myanmar gets 20 years in Jail for 'misreporting' on Cyclone aftermath

A Myanmar court has given a photojournalist a 20-year prison sentence with hard labor due to his reporting on the aftermath of a deadly cyclone. This information comes from Myanmar Now, the media outlet he worked for. Sai Zaw Thaike, a photographer for the independent online news service, received what seems to be the harshest punishment for any journalist detained since the military took control of the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. Myanmar Now, operating covertly, reported that a military tribunal conducted the trial, found Sai Zaw Thaike guilty, and issued the sentence on Wednesday. This marked the first court hearing since his apprehension in the western state of Rakhine. According to the news service, he faced various charges, including one related to treason, also known as sedition. Additional charges comprised incitement, spreading false information, and agitating against government personnel or the military, with a maximum prison term of three years. He was also charged with online defamation, which could lead to a three-year imprisonment, and violating a natural disaster management law by allegedly spreading false disaster-related information with the intent to create public panic, carrying a potential one-year prison term. These legal proceedings occurred within Insein prison in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, where the photographer had been detained. The news agency reported that Sai Zaw Thaike had no access to family visits and was denied legal representation. Swe Win, the editor-in-chief of Myanmar Now, stated, “His sentencing highlights the complete suppression of press freedom under the military junta’s rule and underscores the high price independent journalists in Myanmar must pay for their professional work.” Reporters Without Borders, a press freedom organization, previously reported in April that Myanmar ranked as the world’s second-largest jailer of journalists, after China. Myanmar’s position on the 2023 World Press Freedom Index was dismal, at 176th out of 180 countries. Sai Zaw Thaike was arrested on May 23 in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine, while documenting the aftermath of Cyclone Mocha, the most destructive storm in Myanmar in over a decade. Cyclone Mocha had made landfall near Sittwe just over a week before his arrest, causing widespread flash floods and power outages. The storm claimed the lives of at least 148 people in Rakhine state, with many belonging to the persecuted Muslim Rohingya minority residing in internal displacement camps. Additionally, it caused significant damage to more than 186,000 structures. Myanmar Now indicated uncertainty regarding the charges covered by Wednesday’s conviction. Authorities typically keep details of political trials closely guarded, and independent verification of Myanmar Now’s report was unavailable. Sai Zaw Thaike’s conviction adds to the ongoing assault on press freedom and journalists by Myanmar’s military-led government, which has been cracking down on independent media. Since the takeover in 2021, at least 13 media outlets, including Myanmar Now, have had their licenses revoked, and approximately 156 journalists have been arrested, with around 50 remaining in detention, according to the local monitoring group Detained Journalists Information. Nearly half of those detained have already been convicted and sentenced. Tragically, at least four media workers have lost their lives, and others have faced torture while in custody. Despite the challenges and threats faced, some of the shuttered media outlets have continued their operations underground without official licenses, publishing online as their staff members persist in reporting while evading arrest. Others operate from abroad in exile. Approximately a month after the 2021 coup, the military raided Myanmar Now’s office in Yangon, leading to some staff members, including chief editor Swe Win, facing criminal charges and going into hiding as their homes were sealed off. Sai Zaw Thaike is the second journalist from Myanmar Now to be detained. Video journalist Kay Zon Nway was arrested while covering an anti-coup protest in Yangon in late February 2021 and was released four months later as part of a broad amnesty. Swe Win, speaking from exile, affirmed, “Despite the immense challenges we are facing, we will remain steadfast in our commitment to providing news and information to the people of Myanmar.”