A Myanmar court has denied bail for the chief executive and top editor of a local media company who were arrested in November on defamation charges under a controversial article in the country’s telecommunication’s law, RFA reported on 30 November.
On Nov. 25, Than Htut Aung, chief executive officer of Eleven Media Group, and Wai Phyo, chief editor of the Daily Eleven newspaper, asked the Tamwe township court in east-central Yangon to release them on bail, with the former citing ill health.
Than Htut Aung and Wai Phyo were sued in early November earlier under Article 66(d) of Myanmar’s Telecommunications Law for writing and publishing an editorial that claimed that Phyo Min Thein, chief minister of Yangon, wore a luxury watch worth an estimated U.S. $100,000, given to him by an unnamed drug tycoon.
Article 66(d) prohibits use of the telecom network to defame people and carries a jail sentence of up to three years and a fine for those who violate it.