Protesters Allege Corruption of Judge in Irrawaddy Division

PATHEIN, Irrawaddy Division — More than 200 locals staged a demonstration in front of the local courthouse against the rulings of a judge in Pantanaw Township, Irrawaddy Division, last week.

Pantanaw locals allege that the township judge, Thida One, has taken bribes, issued unjust rulings, delayed trials and refused defendants’ bail […]

Myanmar: Further Information: Activist Organization Targeted again

Two members of the Movement for Democracy Current Force (MDCF) have been given jail terms for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. They must be immediately and unconditionally released. Charges against a third person, who is married to one of the MDCF members and was exercising her right to peaceful protest, should be dropped […]

Kachin Civil Society Groups Rally for Two Jailed IDPs

Kachin civil society groups held a public gathering in Shwezet church in the Kachin State capital Myitkyina on Tuesday to show their support for two Kachin IDPs, Brang Yung and Lahpai Gam, who were arrested by Burma Army soldiers in mid-2012 and allegedly severely tortured. […]

Bi Mon Te Nay Journalists Must Be Freed!

Burma Campaign UK today called for the immediate and unconditional release of the Bi Mon Te Nay journalists. Bi Mon Te Nay Journal’s three journalists Kyaw Zaw Hein, Win Tin, Thura Aung, and owners Yin Min Htun and Kyaw Min Khaing were arrested in July, and were investigated by the Special Branch police in Burma […]

Document – Myanmar: Media Workers Jailed for Two Years

Five media workers have been sentenced to two years in prison in Myanmar over the publication of a news story. They are prisoners of conscience, detained solely for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression […]

Myanmar: Imprisoned Media Workers’ Sentences Reduced

URGENT ACTION

imprisoned media workers’ sentences reduced

Five media workers from Unity newspaper in Myanmar had their sentences reduced on appeal to seven years’ imprisonment. They were jailed in connection with their journalistic activities and are prisoners of conscience who must be immediately and unconditionally released. […]

Phillip Hammond Urged To Take Action To Free Htin Kyaw

Burma Campaign UK today urged Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond to pressure the military-backed government in Burma to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of Htin Kyaw, a political prisoner in Burma. Burma Campaign UK today highlights the case of Htin Kyaw as part of the No Political Prisoner Left Behind campaign […]

Myanmar: Authorities must End ‘Relentless Persecution’ of Activist

Myanmar authorities must end their relentless persecution of a prominent human rights activist who faces trial again tomorrow after having already been sentenced to almost a decade in prison for “crimes” such as holding a candlelight vigil, Amnesty International said […]

Document – Myanmar: Imprisoned for Peacefully Protesting: U Sein Than

URGENT ACTION

imprisoned for peacefully protesting

Community leader U Sein Than has been imprisoned in Myanmar for participating in a series of peaceful protests. He faces further charges related to the peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. U Sein Than is a prisoner of conscience who must be immediately and unconditionally released […]

Draconian Sentences of Unity Weekly Journalists Must at the Very Least be Drastically Reduced

On Thursday 28 August, lawyer Robert San Aung submitted to Magwe regional court the final appeal against the harsh verdicts brought against the five Unity Weekly journalists on10 July. They were sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment with hard labor following the publication of a report in January of this year that gave details of an alleged chemical weapons facility in central Burma. They were charged for trespass and for “disclosing state secrets” in violation of the 1923 Official Secrets Act (OSA). Robert San Aung submitted the appeal on the grounds that the four reporters are innocent and should therefore be released from prison, and that the sentence of the journal’s executive be reduced by half. The Magwe regional court is expected to issue a decision within a month.

While the offense under Section 3(1)(a) of the OSA is a strict liability offense – meaning that the prosecution only has to prove that the defendants were in the vicinity of the prohibited place for them to be found guilty – in order for the other convictions to stand, the burden is on the prosecution to show that the secrets alleged to have been leaked were intended to or were likely to have breached state security or assisted an enemy. The journalists must be shown to have leaked detailed and useful information, to have done more than just report that the facility was a weapons factory. It is not clear that the prosecution ever satisfied this requirement.

Even so, if the appeal submission fails to convince the court either that the journalists are not guilty of any substantive offenses, or that there are specific and legitimate defenses under the OSA that can be relied upon, then at the very least the appeal should be successful on grounds of mitigation regarding the alleged offenses, meaning that the sentences should at a minimum be drastically reduced […]