• Burmese
Sunday, July 20, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
28 °c
Yangon
  • 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

Journal Fined 2m Kyats for Defaming President

Kyaw Hsu Mon by Kyaw Hsu Mon
July 21, 2015
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
Journal Fined 2m Kyats for Defaming President

The Myanmar Herald weekly journal is fined two million kyats for defamation charges brought by Burma’s Ministry of Information. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy)

3.6k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

RANGOON — Two journalists employed by the Myanmar Herald were fined one million kyats (US$800) each after being found guilty of defaming the president, the journal’s chief editor said on Tuesday.

Eleven people were initially tried in the case when the Ministry of Information leveled the charges late last year at the Pokeba Thiri Township Court in Naypyidaw.

Nine of the accused were acquitted on Tuesday, while former chief editor Kyaw Swa Win and deputy chief editor Win Ko Ko Oo—also known as Ant Khaung Min—received the maximum fine for violating Chapter 4 (9) (g) of a newly enacted Media Law.

RelatedPosts

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

July 15, 2025
1.6k
Anti-Coup Icon Explains Urgent Call for NUG Reform

Anti-Coup Icon Explains Urgent Call for NUG Reform

July 11, 2025
684
Nowhere Are the Threats Facing Journalism More Real Than in Myanmar

Nowhere Are the Threats Facing Journalism More Real Than in Myanmar

May 3, 2025
762

The journal’s legal woes began after publishing an interview with a researcher for Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), which criticized President Thein Sein for waffling in statements about whether he would seek reelection.

“The judge said the interview about President Thein Sein should not have been published, that President Thein Sein is like our parent and it was defamation,” said the journal’s current chief editor, Aung Kyaw Min.

Complaints about media offenses are meant to be mediated by Burma’s Interim Press Council, a semi-governmental body established in 2012 to liaise between the press and the government.

The council received two defamation complaints from the Ministry of Information last September—one against the Myanmar Herald—though the journal’s editor said the council played little role in their dispute.

Defense lawyer Zaw Lin denounced the outcome as unjust.

“The other nine people were released, which is reasonable. But for these two journalists, they shouldn’t have been fined, and we will appeal to the district court,” Zaw Lin said.

Aung Kyaw Min stood by his team, who he believes did nothing wrong, and criticized the government’s treatment of the fourth estate.

“If they want [Burma] to become a democratic country, they shouldn’t restrict the press,” he said.

Media reforms initiated since 2012 were met with initial praise, as prepublication censorship was abolished and licenses granted for private publishing outfits, though rights groups have since warned that new freedoms could be backsliding.

Last year, a journalist was killed in the custody of the Burma Army. At least a dozen others are serving prison terms for charges related to their work, some for up to seven years with hard labor.

Additional reporting contributed by Zue Zue.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: A_FactivaMediaReform
Kyaw Hsu Mon

Kyaw Hsu Mon

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Elon Musk Calls for Closure of Radio Free Europe, Voice of America
World

Elon Musk Calls for Closure of Radio Free Europe, Voice of America

by Naung Naung
February 10, 2025
7.1k

The billionaire’s call to shut down the US-funded media organizations, which reach hundreds of millions of people globally, follows his...

Read moreDetails
Illustration entitled ‘Rebellious Reporters’ by Harn Lay for The Irrawaddy.
Specials

Our Fight For Press Freedom

by The Irrawaddy
May 3, 2024
103.4k

To mark World Press Freedom Day, The Irrawaddy presents a compendium of its articles on press freedom and the repression...

Read moreDetails
Burma

Myanmar Junta Rages Against E. Timor President After Defection Call

by The Irrawaddy
December 14, 2023
5.2k

The regime’s newspapers were filled with tirades against José Ramos-Horta after he urged junta troops to defect, and its backers...

Read moreDetails
Junta Watch: Football Field Dreams Amid Battlefield Disasters; Regime Propaganda’s Parallel Reality; and More
Junta Watch

Junta Watch: Football Field Dreams Amid Battlefield Disasters; Regime Propaganda’s Parallel Reality; and More

by The Irrawaddy
January 20, 2024
4.6k

Also this week, China appeased after Taiwan election, forced recruitment as resistance threatens to decouple main cities, power plea for...

Read moreDetails
Reclaiming Autonomy: Challenging the Narrative of Fragmentation in Myanmar
Guest Column

Reclaiming Autonomy: Challenging the Narrative of Fragmentation in Myanmar

by Zung Ring
June 18, 2024
2.6k

The media’s increasing obsession with ‘national disintegration’ is playing into the junta’s hands and threatening progress toward peaceful federalism.

Read moreDetails
Junta Watch: Propaganda Boosted to Drown Out Military Defeats; Drone Phobia Grips Regime; and More
Junta Watch

Junta Watch: Propaganda Boosted to Drown Out Military Defeats; Drone Phobia Grips Regime; and More

by The Irrawaddy
November 25, 2023
2.3k

Also over the past seven days, Min Aung Hlaing failed to boost morale in battered army, while the junta tried...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Rumblings of Electoral Support Take Shape in Thein Sein’s Native Township

Rumblings of Electoral Support Take Shape in Thein Sein’s Native Township

The Spirits Smile Down on Nyein Chan Su

The Spirits Smile Down on Nyein Chan Su

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

5 days ago
1.6k
Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

1 week ago
3.6k

Most Read

  • More Than 20,000 Displaced As Myanmar Junta Burns Homes Around World Heritage Site

    More Than 20,000 Displaced As Myanmar Junta Burns Homes Around World Heritage Site

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Protecting Irrawaddy Flotilla Kill 20

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Nation Where Brave Hearts—and Martyrs—Dwell

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Conjuring an Election Illusion in War-Torn Shan; Raiding Offshore Gas to Stay Afloat; and More

    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.