April 2, 2020 9:20PM EDT

Bangkok) – Myanmar authorities should immediately drop all chargesagainst an editor for broadcasting an interview with an armed grouprepresentative, Human Rights Watch said today. On March 30, police arrested and charged NayMyo Lin, the editor-in-chief of the Mandalay-based Voice of Myanmar, under Myanmar’s overlybroad Counter-Terrorism Law foran interview with the Arakan Army spokesperson.

In recent weeks, the Myanmar government has expandedits crackdown on journalists, including several editors. The actions haveseverely undermined press freedom and access to information in the country.

“The Myanmar authorities’ assault on mediafreedom by arresting journalists who are simply doing their job harmseveryone’s access to information,” said Linda Lakhdhir,Asia legal advisor. “Nay Myo Lin was unjustly charged and should immediately bereleased.”

On March 23, the Myanmar government designatedthe insurgent Arakan Army as a terroristorganization under the Counter-Terrorism Law and as an“unlawful association” under section 15(2) of the colonial-era UnlawfulAssociations Act. On March 27, Nay Myo Lin interviewed the Arakan Armyspokesperson Khaing Thu Kha and broadcast the interview under the title “PeaceProcess has stopped.”

The Mandalay Special Branch police filed acriminal complaint against Nay Myo Lin under sections 50(a) and 52(a) of theCounter-Terrorism Law. Section 50(a) of the law authorizes a minimum sentenceof ten years and a maximum of life imprisonment for, among other actions,“causing fear among the public” or “damaging the security of the public.”Section 52(a) authorizes a sentence of three to seven years in prison foractivities that “knowingly involve a terrorist group.”

Nay Myo Lin’s arrest reflects the government’sdeepening crackdown on independent media. On March 31, police raided the homeof the editor-in chief of the Yangon-based Khit Thit News media outlet. Policealso raided the office of the Sittwe-based Narinjara news outlet, arrestingthree journalists – Thein Zaw, Aung Lin Htun, and Htun Khaing – and releasingthem later that evening. The Democratic Voice of Burma reported thatthe editor-in-chief of Narinjara, Khaing Mrat Kyaw, has been charged under theCounter-Terrorism Law but has not been arrested.

“The baseless charges against Nay Myo Lin andKhaing Mrat Kyaw make clear that every journalist trying to cover Myanmar’smany conflicts is at risk,” Lakhdhir said. “So too are the humanitarian workerstrying to bring aid to civilians at risk and human rights advocates monitoringabuse in conflict areas.”

While international human rights law allowsgovernments to place restrictions on the media for national security reasons,these restrictions must be strictly necessary for a legitimate purpose and notbe overbroad. They may not be used to suppress or withhold information oflegitimate public interest not harmful to national security, or to prosecutejournalists for reporting such information. For the government to fulfill thisresponsibility, journalists should be able to speak to and meet with a varietyof people without fear of arrest or harassment – including those who are inconflict with the government or military.

The Myanmar government has repeatedlyused draconian laws against journalists for reporting onmilitary abuses or ethnic armed groups. In 2018, two Reuters journalists were sentenced to sevenyears in prison under Myanmar’s Official Secrets Act after uncovering amassacre of Rohingya Muslims. They were released on a presidential pardon afterspending more than a year in jail. Aung Marm Oo, the editor-in-chief of the news agencyDevelopment Media Group (DMG), which has reported on theconflict in Rakhine State, is currently facing a complaint under the UnlawfulAssociations Act, which carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.

Access to information is rapidly diminishingunder Myanmar’s current government. On March 23, the Ministry of Transport andCommunications instructed four mobile operators to block access to 221 websitesdeemed to be spreading “fake news” or containing explicit content, according to the media.

Narinjara and Development Media Group saidthat since March 24, they have been blocked by all four mobile operators, whichinclude Norway’s Telenor, Qatari-owned Ooredoo, military-affiliated MyTel andthe state-owned MPT. Telenor is the only telecommunications provider tohave issued a statement aboutthe government directive.

The current editor-in-chief of DMG, Phadu TunAung, told local media that byblocking the only two ethnic-Rakhine media outlets, the government hadeffectively silenced ethnic Rakhine voices. “By blocking our websites, [thegovernment is] restricting the people’s right to information,” he said. Otherregistered media outlets in Shan and Karen States and Mandalay regionalso reported that they were blocked.

Any government restrictions on websites shouldclearly explain why the content is being taken down and should focus onspecific content rather than whole domains.

The government should also lift the continued internet shutdowns in nine townshipsin Rakhine and Chin States, which threaten the safety of civilians as fighting between the Arakan Army and the Myanmar armed forces continues.The blanket shutdown violates international human rightslaw, which requires internet-based restrictions to be necessary and proportionate.

Internet service providers should fully resistunjustified internet shutdowns or takedowns, including by seeking a legal basisfor any shutdown order and interpreting requests to cause the least intrusiverestrictions. They should carry out their responsibilities under the United Nations Guiding Principles onBusiness and Human Rights, and avoid complicity in human rightsabuses especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Myanmar government has increasingly actedto restrict access to information it does not like and punish those who bringit to light,” Lakhdhir said. “Counter-terrorism laws should never be usedagainst journalists for their reporting. Under these circumstances the futurefor press freedom in Myanmar is bleak.” 

https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/02/myanmar-editor-wrongfully-charged