Two journalists jailed for defamation
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For the first time in more than 100 years, journalists were sentenced a two-month prison term for defamation.
Mawlamyine Township Court Judge Than Aung on Wednesday sentenced two journalists from The Myanmar Post to two months in prison under Section 500.
Major Thein Zaw, a military MP from Mon State, filed a lawsuit against Chief editor Than Htaik Thu and deputy chief reporter Hsan Moe Tun. He said he was misquoted in a report about the sharing of seats in parliament between civilians and military representatives. The report appeared on January 29, 2014. The verdict came after a one-year trial.
"We will continue to fight for justice," Myanmar Post senior editor Zin Thaw Naing said. "We will file an appeal. We will go to the regional high court."
Zaw Min Oo, a freelance reporter who wrote the original story and goes by the pen name of Thanlwin Maung Maung, did not face prosecution, but appeared in court as a witness on behalf of plaintiff Thein Zaw, said Zin Thaw Naing.
The Myanmar Post printed a blacked-out cover issue on March 16, two days before the imprisonment of their two journalists, to denounce the president, his government and the Home Affairs Ministry for a recent violent crackdown on student protesters and the arrest of journalists.
"Imprisoning journalists under Section 500 has never taken place in any era," said Thein Myint, managing director of Eleven Media Group and a member of the Myanmar Press Council. "I strongly oppose it. This will be discussed by the Press Council.”
Section 500, enacted during the British colonial period of 1824 to 1948, stipulates that those guilty of defamation can be sentenced to a maximum of two years in prison, a fine or both. Prison sentences under this section have rarely been seen, even in the colonial era.
Under President Thein Sein’s government, journalists have come under greater scrutiny, with the possibility of arrest and imprisonment an ongoing threat. Police and security forces have been targeting journalists covering public protests and other conflicts.
Under the Thein Sein government, 10 journalists were jailed in 2014 and 19 others are still facing trials.
Veteran journalist and patron of the Myanmar Journalists Association Pho Thaukya said he was dismayed by what he regardedas unusually harsh punishment for the reporters.
"It's completely unacceptable at a time when the country is building democracy," he told Reuters.
The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar,Yanghee Lee, said in a statement this week that she was concerned that journalists are still being interrogated and arrested.
"This needs to stop if Myanmar wants to create a meaningful democratic space."
The Committee to Protect Journalists said recently that since a semi-civilian government took power in 2011, 10 journalists had been jailed and 19 were facing trial, and Myanmar was the 10th worst jailor of media workers in 2014.
