Journalists Htet Htet Khine and Sithu Aung Myint arrested in Myanmar

Myanmar authorities should immediately release journalists Htet Htet Khine and Sithu Aung Myint and drop all charges against them, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On August 15, military authorities in Yangon arrested Htet Htet Khine, a freelance producer for BBC Media Action, and Sithu Aung Myint, a columnist for the independent Frontier Myanmar magazine and a commentator for the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Voice of America, according to news reports citing military-run Myawaddy TV.

Authorities charged Sithu Aung Myint with spreading false news, a crime under Article 505(a) of the penal code punishable by up to three years in prison, and sedition, under Article 124(a) of the penal code, which can carry a life sentence, according to The Irrawaddy.

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