PEC demands fair trial for detained Burmese journalists

The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), a global media safety and rights organization, has expressed concern about the continuing arrest and imprisonment of working journalists in Myanmar (also known as Burma and Brahmadesh) since last year's military coup and urged authorities to ensure fair trials for all detained journalists.
 
According to media reports from Yangon, the former capital of the Southeast Asian nation, a freelance news presenter for BBC Burmese was imprisoned for three years with hard labour by a military court on September 15 at Insein jail. Htet Htet Khine was detained on 15 August last year and held in Yangon's infamous prison for almost a year.
 
The famous journalist presented a Burmese language show for the British broadcaster called 'Khan Sar Kyi,' in which she chronicled the stories of numerous Burmese political and social figures against the backdrop of the country's imminent civil war. She was accused of using derogatory language against the military junta while working for a number of illegal groups.
 
“Since the coup on 1 February 2021, the military dictators have forced many media outlets to shut down their offices inside Myanmar. Nearly 145 journalists have been arrested, and one-third of them are still under detention. We demand an unconditional release of all journalists by the military authority,” said Blaise Lempen, president of PEC.
 
As Myanmar is facing a civil war-like situation where the soldiers were attacking the pro-democracy activists from different organizations and a few resistant groups have taken arms in their hands to target the military personnel along with their relatives and well-wishers, the journalists have been facing a difficult situation. PEC’s southeast Asia representative Nava Thakuria informs that the journalists can be arrested for any piece that the generals do not like.