Mizzima’s Myeik-based freelance reporter Ko Zaw Zaw was sentenced to two years in prison after he was detained at his home by Junta troops nearly two months ago.
A special prison court handed a two-year jail term to Ko Zaw Zaw under section 505(a) of the penal code.
Before the final trial, his family was able to meet him on April 6.
After receiving a prison sentence, Ko Zaw Zaw got an opportunity to speak with his wife, Ma Tin Tin Moe on the phone for over 10 minutes with the permission of the judge. Ko Zaw Zaw requested a photo of his five-year-old son before he returned to prison.
Section 505(a) is one of the laws Junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing revised after the military seized power, ousting the democratically elected government. Section 505(a) of the Penal Code makes it a crime to publish or circulate any rumour and misinformation with intent to cause alarm among the public or incite the public to commit a crime against the government.
Ko Zaw Zaw was covering Myeik and Dawei before his arrest.
On the same day, a DVB reporter, Ko Aung Kyaw was also given a two-year prison sentence.
Junta’s state Administration Council handed a two-year prison sentence to Ko Aung Kyaw under section 505(a) of the Penal code. But Ko Aung Kyaw rejected filing an appeal for sentence reduction.
“He said he doesn’t believe in the rule of law, so he has decided not to appeal”, Ko Aung Kyaw’s wife said. Currently, those two reporters are in good health, according to their families.
On March 1, Ko Aung Kyaw was injured at his home when the troops violently arrested him. He also live-streamed the incident that occurred in his apartment on Facebook. The military junta arrested a total of six staff of Mizzima, including journalists and administrative staff, and one has been released.
Ko Zaw Zaw is the first one who has received a prison sentence. The others are still in prison while waiting for their court hearings. Moreover, under section 505(a), another ten journalists of Mizzima have been included in the process of prosecution inside prison.
Mizzima, founded in 1998 in New Delhi, India was the first exile media that returned to Burma/Myanmar in 2012 when the country opened up. Then, the first thing the military regime did when it took over power by coup on February 1, 2021, was shutting down the Free-To-Air Mizzima TV channel in the country. And then on March 8, 2021, the military junta revoked licenses of publishing and broadcasting of Mizzima Media. Then on 9 March 2021, the military raided Mizzima Head Office in Yangon and took away whatever they found in the office. Mizzima's co-founder Daw Thin Thin Aung was arrested on April 8, 2021, in Yangon by the military. As of now, total five members of Mizzima are in jail.
However, Mizzima continues its job of reporting, publishing and broadcasting through different media platforms including Free-To-Air Satellite TV channels, Mizzima Facebook pages, Mizzima Websites, Mizzima YouTube, Mizzima Application and plan to launch a FM radio soon.
