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Case dropped against Myanmar journalists facing incitement charges
YANGON, Nov 9, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The incitement case against three Myanmar
journalists who reported critically on the financial management of Yangon’s
government has been withdrawn, their lawyer told AFP Friday, in rare good
news for the country’s beleaguered press.
Eleven Media’s executive editors Kyaw Zaw Lin and Nayi Min and chief
reporter Phyo Wai Win were arrested in October but allowed out on bail after
a few weeks in detention
They were accused of incitement after an article raised questions about
budgeting within the city government, which is run by Phyo Min Thein, a close
confidante of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Article 505 (b) criminalises published or circulated information that
causes “fear or alarm to the public”.
The case prompted an outcry amid fears of declining press freedom in Suu
Kyi’s Myanmar and was lodged weeks after Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw
Soe Oo were sentenced to seven years on state secrets charges while reporting
on a massacre of Rohingya Muslims.
But the lawyer for Eleven Media’s staff said the Yangon government had
sent a letter to the court asking to drop the charges and take up their
grievance through arbitration at Myanmar’s Press Council.
“The judge allowed them to withdraw and gave a verdict (Friday) right
away. So the case is finished,” lawyer Kyee Myint told AFP.
In an interview on Thursday, however, Phyo Min Thein told state media the
city government would seek a correction through the council, and could resume
the legal tack if it was not satisfied with the outcome. “If they do not
follow and if negotiation by the press council is not a success, we will
continue this case legally,” he said.
Cases against journalists in Myanmar have further tarnished the reputation
of one-time rights icon Suu Kyi, whose legacy fell apart during the Rohingya
crisis.
Suu Kyi has said little in defence of the Reuters journalists, who will
have spent a year in prison next month. They are appealing.
BSS/AFP/RY/1601 hrs