To celebrate World Press Freedom Day on 3 May 2025, the Independent Press Council Myanmar (IPCM) released a statement highlighting the number of journalists killed and imprisoned by the junta.

The statement (in Burmese) revealed that since the February 2021 coup seven journalists have been killed in Myanmar. It named them as: freelance reporters Ko Lin Lin Tun, Phoe Thiha (aka Myat Thu Tun) and Htet Myat Thu; freelance photojournalist Ko Soe Naing; the editor of the Federal journal, Sai Kay (aka Sai Win Aung); the editor-in-chief and founder of Khonumthung News Pu Tuidim; and DVB news reporter Win Htut Oo (aka Faizal). The dates they were killed were not given.

Also, according to the IPC statement, as of 3 May 2025, 40 journalists are in prison in Myanmar. Of those, 33 were men and seven were women. At least two of those, Shin Dae Swi and Myo Min Oo, received life sentences and at least two more, Sai Zaw Theik (a.k.a Sai Zaw) and Aung San Oo received sentences of 20 years.

In total, 11 journalists have received prison sentences of 10 years or more.

But, the ICPM warned that due to limited access, incomplete data and difficult circumstances the lists of killed and imprisoned journalists may not be exhaustive.

It also called on the public to report any instances of journalist arrests, detentions, or deaths to the ICPM to help it maintain an up to date record of how the junta is persecuting journalists.

An IPCM representative said: “When we were putting together the data on imprisoned journalists, we had to reach out to their families, the prison authorities, and other sources. The purpose of sharing these records is to seek justice for these journalists, honour their sacrifices, and protect press freedom. While we strive to keep the information as up to date as possible, we recognise that some challenges made it difficult to gather everything.”

The figures were released during an online IPCM event to celebrate World Press Freedom Day on 3 May.

During the event IPCM also highlighted the operational challenges faced by exile media agencies that have relocated to border areas and abroad.

U Ko Ko Zaw, the vice chair of the IPCM said: “We’ve learned from the data that many exile media agencies are working with young people. We’ve also identified their needs, like healthcare and legal residency visas. We plan to present this data to the United Nations and international donors. We’ve also received many interesting inquiries.”

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly held the first World Press Freedom day on 3 May 1993 and it has been held on the same day every year since. Its aim is to to raise awareness about the importance of press freedom and to remind governments of their duty to uphold the right to freedom of expression.