Renowned writer and National Literary Award Winner U Tin Nyunt has been arrested and charged by the quasi-civilian military administration in Thanlyin Township, along with his son and a bookseller, following the online sale of  political titles published during the previous civilian government’s term.

U Tin Nyunt, 71, was taken into custody at his residence by security forces around 2:00 am on 23 April.

He has been charged at the Thanlyin Police Station under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code, a broadly defined law often used to criminalize dissent. According to family sources, one of his sons remains in detention alongside him, while a young female bookseller was arrested in a separate raid for listing the author’s work on TikTok.

The crackdown reportedly centres on three specific titles published between 2015 and 2020: Nga Tar the Dog Handler, The Generals Lied to Me, and U Than Shwe’s Yadaya (Rituals).

Authorities reportedly cited the lack of an online shopping license as a pretext for the bookseller’s arrest. Literary circles, however, view the move as a direct targeting of political content from the National League for Democracy (NLD) era.

U Tin Nyunt is a pillar of Myanmar’s literary community, having authored over 50 books across multiple genres. A retired teacher and former editor at The Voice Daily, he was awarded the National Literary Award in 2017 for his memoir, A Teacher’s Memoir. He is perhaps most famous for his novel Tears on the Yoma.

The arrests come amid a period of heightened sensitivity for the new quasi-civilian administration, which was formally inaugurated on 10 April. While the rotating chair of ASEAN has recently called for the release of political prisoners, the detention of a high-profile cultural figure like U Tin Nyunt suggests a continuing hardline stance on freedom of expression.

Both the author and his son remain in custody as family members seek legal counsel to challenge the charges.