A military court has sentenced a Myanmar journalist to life in prison, outlet’s editor says

BANGKOK — A military court in Myanmar has given a life prison sentence to a local journalist and sentenced one of his colleagues to 20 years after convicting them under a counterterrorism law, their editor said Wednesday. The sentences for Myo Myint Oo and Aung San Oo of the independent online news service Dawei Watch appear to be the most severe dealt to any journalist since the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. Kyaw San Min, the chief editor of Dawei Watch media, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Aung San Oo was initially sentenced to 20 years in prison by a military court in Myeik prison in February and Myo Myint Oo was handed a life sentence by the same court in May, but he was unable to learn further details. Kyaw San Min said a total of five reporters and a columnist from Dawei Watch have been arrested since the army began cracking down on independent media after its seizure of power. “These types of extreme court rulings aim to instill fear among all reporters and will have a chilling effect across Myanmar’s independent media,” Shawn Crispin, Southeast Asia representative for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, said in an emailed statement.