Singapore, March 4, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release in recent days of at least four journalists in Myanmar as part of an amnesty of more than 7,300 prisoners convicted of terrorism, but urges military authorities to free all remaining jailed reporters.
Those released include Hmu Yadanar Khet Moh Moh Tun, Myat Kalay (Naing Win Tun), Than Htike Myint and Yan Naing Soe, according to a Democratic Voice of Burma report and data compiled by the Independent Myanmar Journalists Association and the Independent Press Council Myanmar, which communicated with CPJ by messaging app and email, respectively.
Shin Daewe, who is serving a 15-year sentence for terrorism, was also scheduled for release, but was still being held in detention as of Wednesday morning, the same sources said.
All had been detained for their reporting following the military’s 2021 coup, when authorities intensified use of anti-state provisions to target and imprison independent journalists. The four released journalists were convicted under the Anti-Terrorism Law, with their sentences ranging from five to 13 years.
“While we welcome the release of these four Myanmar journalists, several of their colleagues remain unjustly detained,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “If military authorities want to signal a less repressive, more open era after elections, they should free all, not just a few, journalists held behind bars.”
Myanmar ranked as the world’s second-worst jailer of journalists when CPJ conducted its snapshot of imprisoned reporters on December 1 last year, with at least 30 behind bars, trailing only China.
The releases follow phased elections held in December and January, which the military has touted as a return to democracy after seizing power in a 2021 putsch.
Many reports characterized the polls as neither free nor fair amid ongoing armed conflict, sweeping media restrictions on election reporting, and repression of dissent and opposition.
Myanmar’s Ministry of Information did not respond to CPJ’s emailed request for comment.