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Photojournalist sentenced to 20 years in prison for reporting on a cyclone

Media freedoms in Myanmar remained severely restricted. At least six journalists and other media workers were arrested or sentenced to prison terms during 2024. They included photojournalist Sai Zaw Thaike, who was accused of disseminating information that could cause public alarm or misunderstanding towards the military authorities. He was found guilty on a bogus charge of sedition by a military tribunal in Yangon’s Insein Prison in September and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment with hard labor. Sai Zaw Thaike had worked for the online news outlet Myanmar Now, which was banned by the military after the February 2021 coup.

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Ambassador

H.E

Aung Lynn

Myanmar

Dear Ambassador,

Photojournalist Sai Zaw Thaike was arrested in May 2023, after travelling to Rakhine State to report on the devastation caused by Cyclone Mocha.  After a one-day trial in September, he was sentenced by a military tribunal to 20 years in prison. He has endured beatings by prison staff and periods of solitary confinement.

He embedded himself with a relief team. But after a week there, Sai was arrested. He was interrogated and beaten.  In September, he was sentenced by a military tribunal to 20 years in prison with hard labor. His trial lasted just one day.

Sai should be able to report freely. He should also be at home, spending time with his family and doing the things he loves. Instead, he is locked up. He has endured beatings by prison staff and periods of solitary confinement.

Journalism is not a crime, but over 200 journalists in Myanmar have been imprisoned in the past few years.

I am asking that Sai Zaw Thaike be immediately and unconditionally released.

Sincerely,

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