Myanmar Regime Sentences Jailed Journalist to Extra Prison Time, Hard Labor

By The Irrawaddy 28 September 2022

Myanmar’s junta sentenced the jailed journalist Ma Htet Htet Khine to an additional three years in prison with hard labor on Tuesday.

Ma Htet Htet Khine was sentenced by a military regime court under the Unlawful Association Act. She had already been given a three year sentence for incitement on September 15, after being detained for over a year, meaning that she has been jailed for a total of six years.

The journalist was previously the presenter of the Khan Sar Kyi [Feel It] television program produced by BBC Media Action for audiences in Myanmar.

“BBC Media Action is dismayed and alarmed to hear of this additional sentence for our freelance producer, Htet Htet Khine, in Myanmar,” BBC Media Action Chief Executive Officer, Caroline Nursey OBE, said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

“We remain concerned for her safety and well-being in detention, and call for the release of Htet Htet Khine and other media workers who have been unjustly detained in Myanmar,” added Norsey.

Ma Htet Htet Khine was arrested in August 2021 in Yangon and has been held since then in Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison.

She was charged with incitement under Article 505(a) of the Penal Code and then under the Unlawful Association Act for allegedly working as a volunteer editor for Federal FM, a radio station launched by the parallel National Unity Government.

Over 140 journalists have been detained by the junta since last year’s coup and 60 remain in prison. Four reporters have died in military custody.