• Burmese
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
25 °c
Ashburn
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Jailed for Journalism

The Irrawaddy by The Irrawaddy
August 1, 2017
in Burma
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
(Left to right) The Voice Daily chief editor Kyaw Min Swe, Myanmar Now chief editor Ko Swe Win, The Irrawaddy senior reporter Lawi Weng, DVB senior reporter Ko Aye Nai, and DVB reporter Pyae Phone Aung. / The Irrawaddy

(Left to right) The Voice Daily chief editor Kyaw Min Swe, Myanmar Now chief editor Ko Swe Win, The Irrawaddy senior reporter Lawi Weng, DVB senior reporter Ko Aye Nai, and DVB reporter Pyae Phone Aung. / The Irrawaddy

8.7k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

YANGON — The arrest of esteemed investigative reporter Ko Swe Win at Yangon International Airport on Sunday evening temporarily raised the total number of journalists detained in Myanmar for doing their job since June to five.

Out of the five, Ko Swe Win, the chief editor of news agency Myanmar Now, is the only one who is not being sued by the military—instead, a follower of the banned nationalist group Ma Ba Tha is prosecuting him for posting on Facebook an article which criticized ultranationalist monk U Wirathu.

Ko Swe Win has since been granted bail from Maha Aung Myay Township Court in Mandalay, but his four colleagues are still imprisoned.

RelatedPosts

Timeline: Key Events in the Life of Myanmar’s Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Updated Timeline: Key Events in the Life of Myanmar’s Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

June 17, 2025
6.4k
Myanmar Army Closes in on Key TNLA-Held Town of Nawnghkio

Myanmar Army Closes in on Key TNLA-Held Town of Nawnghkio

June 10, 2025
1k
12,000 Kyats a Day: The Illusion of a Living Wage in Myanmar’s Factories

12,000 Kyats a Day: The Illusion of a Living Wage in Myanmar’s Factories

May 27, 2025
1.4k

All of the arrests are directly linked to the work of the reporters, exacerbating fears of a clampdown on independent media and casting serious doubts over whether the country is opening a new chapter on press freedom.

Ko Aye Nai, Senior Reporter

Democratic Voice of Burma

Veteran reporter Ko Aye Nai, 52, has been working for DVB for 11 years, some of them spent in Chiang Mai, Thailand, while the news outlet was in exile. He—along with and three men who drove them through the area—were charged under Article 17(1) of the colonial-era Unlawful Associations Act for contacting the by ethnic armed group the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and were placed in detention in Hsipaw prison. They face sentences of up to three years. “We don’t even have a pen sharp enough to be a weapon,” he said at the first court hearing. “We can die any time by stepping on landmines or being shot. We take risks for our work.”

Lawi Weng, Senior Reporter

The Irrawaddy

Since joining The Irrawaddy a decade ago, Lawi Weng, 39, has been at the forefront—and often the frontline—of reporting on ethnic conflicts in Myanmar. In the last year he has reported on the Northern Alliance offensive in northern Shan State and clashes between a Democratic Karen Benevolent Army and the Myanmar Army-aligned Border Guard Force in Kachin State. Last Friday, the judge presiding over the case accepted the bail request and said he would rule at the next court date on Aug. 4.

Ko Pyae Phone Aung, Assistant Broadcast Journalist

Democratic Voice of Burma

The 24-year-old reporter Ko Pyae Phone Aung joined DVB one year ago. The journalists’ first appearance was initially scheduled for July 11, but the reporters were unexpectedly taken on July 7 to the court, where their remand was extended. The reporters were originally arrested on June 26 in Namhsan on their way back from covering a drug-burning ceremony held by the TNLA to mark the United Nations’ International Day Against Drug Abuse.

Ko Swe Win, Chief Editor

Myanmar Now

Former political prisoner Ko Swe Win, 39, was a senior reporter for The Irrawaddy from 2010-2012. Last year he was honored by the government for his reporting on the abuse suffered by two child maids in a Yangon tailor shop. He was charged Article 66(d) after Mandalay resident U Kyaw Myo Shwe, a follower of ultranationalist monk U Wirathu, claimed the chief correspondent insulted the monk in a Facebook post. Ko Swe Win faced a second lawsuit later in March for comments made at a press conference concerning the Article 66(d) charge. In March, the journalist was threatened by three unidentified men.

U Kyaw Min Swe, Chief Editor

The Voice Daily & Weekly

U Kyaw Min Swe, 47, has worked for The Voice Daily for 18 years and is currently chief editor. He was arrested along with satire columnist Ko Kyaw Zwa Naing after the Myanmar language publication printed an article which questioned the country’s armed struggle and peace process. The pair were charged both under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Act and then Article 25(b) of the Media Law after Lt-Col Lin Tun of the Myanmar Army filed a suit against them at the Bahan Township police station on May 17. Ko Kyaw Zwa Naing was later released.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: JailedLawi WengMediaMyanmarPress Freedom
The Irrawaddy

The Irrawaddy

...

Similar Picks:

Five-Star Casino Resort on Myanmar Tropical Island Runs Out of Luck
Burma

Five-Star Casino Resort on Myanmar Tropical Island Runs Out of Luck

by The Irrawaddy
February 6, 2024
19.2k

U Kyaw Lwin ran his casino resort on the visa-free island for more than 10 years before facing arrest in...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta’s Central Bank Had $6.8 Bn in Reserves at 14 Int’l Banks in March
Myanmar’s Crisis & the World

Myanmar Junta’s Central Bank Had $6.8 Bn in Reserves at 14 Int’l Banks in March

by The Irrawaddy
August 21, 2023
19k

Singapore banks held 67% of the junta’s foreign reserves; in a bank document seen by The Irrawaddy, the junta praises...

Read moreDetails
UK Hits Myanmar Border Guard Force Colonel, Two Others, With Sanctions
Burma

UK Hits Myanmar Border Guard Force Colonel, Two Others, With Sanctions

by The Irrawaddy
December 9, 2023
10.8k

Saw Chit Thu and two others linked to a massive gambling project in Karen State were sanctioned over allegations of...

Read moreDetails
China and the Wars in Myanmar
Guest Column

China and the Wars in Myanmar

by Bertil Lintner
January 21, 2025
10.7k

Recent truces declared by ethnic armies show that China is still the only outside power that can intervene in Myanmar,...

Read moreDetails
Japan’s ‘Special Relationship’ With Myanmar Has Abetted Decades of Military Rule
From the Archive

Japan’s ‘Special Relationship’ With Myanmar Has Abetted Decades of Military Rule

by Bertil Lintner
May 17, 2024
17.3k

In light of EAO and NUG leaders’ recent talks in Tokyo, The Irrawaddy revisits a column from 2022 exploring Japan’s...

Read moreDetails
Book Review
Books

Book Review

by The Irrawaddy
August 17, 2024
7.8k

The Irrawaddy “Books” section offers you insightful reviews of volumes on a vast array of issues ranging from culture and...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
U Win Htein in June in Naypyitaw. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

Analysis: Behind NLD Spokesperson’s Hospitalization

Burma’s Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing visits Japan in 2014.

Big in Japan

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

The Lady Myanmar’s Generals Can’t Defeat

The Lady Myanmar’s Generals Can’t Defeat

6 days ago
895
How Myanmar Military Conscripts Child Soldiers

How Myanmar Military Conscripts Child Soldiers

1 day ago
604

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta Scrambles for Chinese Energy Investment as Lights Go Out

    Myanmar Junta Scrambles for Chinese Energy Investment as Lights Go Out

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • TNLA Fights Off Myanmar Junta Assault

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • How Myanmar Military Conscripts Child Soldiers

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Shan State Takes Center Stage in Myanmar Junta’s Election Push

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Changes Election Law Ahead of Polls

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.