Myanmar: RSF appalled by junta’s killing of two journalists
On 21 August 2024, Htet Myat Thu and Win Htut Oo were executed during a raid carried out by 20 junta soldiers on Thu’s house in Myanmar’s southern state of Mon. The two journalists’ bodies were cremated by the military on the spot. Although pro-junta groups claimed on social media that Win Htut Oo and Htet Myat Thu were members of the rebel troops, their former media outlets Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), and the Nation Voice confirmedthat they continued to work as journalists.
“This is another shocking assassination by the Myanmar junta. Since the coup, they have been demonstrating ruthless violence against the journalists still courageously reporting in the country despite the prolonged conflict. We again renew our call on the international community to step up pressure on the regime to cease its campaign of terror against reporters and release the 62 journalists and press freedom defenders detained in the country.
Win Htut Oo, also known as Fizal, covered local news for DVB, a media outlet currently banned in Myanmar. The 26-year-old journalist had previously been charged with “incitement.” 28-year-old Htet Myat Thu, became a freelance journalist in 2020 and worked for the NationVoice, an online media outlet. In the past, he had been arrested by the junta while covering a demonstration in the town of Kyite Hto, in the state of Mon.
Win Htut Oo and Htet Myat Thu are the sixth and seventh journalists to be killed since the coup d’état in February 2021. Freelance photojournalists Aye Kaw and Soe Naing were murdered in detention, while the founder of the Khonumthung News Agency Pu Tuidim and the editor of the Federal News Journal Sai Win Aung were both shot by the army while reporting on the ground. Myat Thu Tun, who previously worked for local media Western News, was tortured and then executed while in prison.
Myanmar, ranked 171th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2024 World Press Freedom Index, is one of the world’s biggest jailers of journalists with 62 detained, second only to China.
