The junta’s State Administration Council (SAC) charged two journalists with violating Article 505/a after beating and arresting them for reporting about a protest against the regime in Myitkyina on March 29.
Authorities charged Ma Chan Bu, from The 74 Media, and Ko La Raw, with Kachin Waves, on April 1, according to a colleague from The 74 Media. The reporters are detained in a police station and expected to be transferred to the prison in the Kachin State capital soon.
SAC revised Article 505/a of Burma’s Penal Code in February to prosecute the Civil Disobedience Movement. The regime started using it to charge journalists during a crackdown on press freedom. Anyone charged with Article 505/a cannot get bail and could receive three years in prison.
According to the Detained Journalists Information Myanmar Facebook group, SAC arrested at least fifty-five journalists and at least twenty-five are still detained. Most are charged with violating Article 505/a.
Authorities released six journalists arrested in Myitkyina in February after the Kachin Peace-talk Creation Group negotiated with them.
