A Myanmar court has sentenced a woman to nine months in prison with hard labour because she claimed that she and her family were pressured to vote for a military-backed party in the November 8, 2020 general election, Human Rights Watch reported.

On September 23, Thinzar Than Min, 25, from Pakokku in Magway Region, posted on Facebook that she would vote for the incumbent National League for Democracy (NLD) party despite alleged pressure from the military, where her father is employed as a medical assistant.

Two military officers brought charges against her for alleged online defamation, a criminal offense under section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law, and for publishing “incorrect information with dishonesty” in violation of section 68(a) of that law.