Myanmar Military Court Sentences Ex-Publisher to Five Years for Sedition
The former publisher of independent news outlet The Irrawaddy has been sentenced to five years in prison for sedition, marking the latest in a barrage of attacks on the press in Myanmar following the 2021 military coup.
Thaung Win was sentenced by the military-controlled Western Yangon District Court on June 28 under Article 124-A of the penal code, which covers sedition, and fined him 100,000 kyats, or about $47, according to The Irrawaddy. He was arrested nine months earlier at his home in the city of Yangon in late September.
Win was initially charged with violating the Publishing and Distribution Act by reporting news that “negatively affected national security, rule of law and public peace,” according to The Irrawaddy.
The ex-publisher has been held in Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison. It is unclear whether he will appeal the conviction.
Liam Scott
