YANGON, Myanmar
Two Myanmar journalists were fined 1 million kyats ($800) each Tuesday after a court found them guilty of defaming President Thein Sein.
The Myanmar Herald’s former chief editor Kyaw Swa Win and deputy chief editor Win Ko Ko Oo -- also known as Ant Khaung Min -- received the maximum penalty under Chapter 4 (9) (g) of a new Media Law, according to The Irrawaddy.
Nine others were acquitted.
The Ministry of Information had filed a complaint last year after the Herald published an interview with a researcher for the main opposition party that criticized Thein Sein for not giving a clear answer on whether he would seek another presidential term.
Aung Kyaw Min, the journal’s current chief editor, was quoted as saying that the judge had said that the interview “should not have been published, that President Thein Sein is like our parent and it was defamation.”
He defended the journalists, insisting they had not been at fault.
“If they [the government] want [Myanmar] to become a democratic country, they should not restrict the press,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, defense lawyer Zaw Lin told The Irrawaddy that the ruling had been unjust.
“The other nine people were released, which is reasonable,” he said. “But for these two journalists, they shouldn't have been fined, and we will appeal to the district court.”
Myanmar’s nominally-civilian government ended pre-publication press censorship and freed several jailed journalists in 2012 as part of a package of reforms following five decades of military rule.
But rights groups have complained those advances are being eroded.
Last month, the Ministry of Information launched a contempt-of-court suit against 17 senior members of the editorial team of the Eleven Daily in a move critics said shows the use of the law to silence journalists.
Human Rights Watch released a report in June accusing Myanmar authorities of intensifying restrictions ahead of national elections due in November by relying on old and new methods to intimidate journalists.
