Burma: Court upholds prison sentences

UPDATE: July 5, 2006

Original Alert: April 4, 2006

Ko Thar Cho, freelance

Ko Kyaw Thwin, Dhamah Yate

LEGAL ACTION

On June 21, a court in the central town of Yamaethin upheld the three-year prison sentences for journalists Ko Thar Cho and Ko Kyaw Thwin, who were first charged on March 27 for photographing and videotaping outside the new capital city of Pyinmana.

The two journalists were charged under the 1996 Television and Video Act, which broadly bars the distribution of film material without government approval. The court, rejected the appeal, made by the journalists’ lawyer, without allowing defense witnesses to testify, according to the Burma Media Association.

For more information on this case, see these news alerts: http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/asia/burma04apr06na.html