Yuki Kitazumi (From his Facebook page)
A Japanese journalist detained in Myanmar last month has been charged with spreading false news, an official at the Japanese embassy in Yangon said on Tuesday, amid a crackdown on media since the military seized power three months ago.
Yuki Kitazumi, who had been picked up from his home by troops and taken into custody on April 19, is the first foreign journalist to be charged since the military ousted the elected government of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Kitazumi, who was being held at Insein Prison in Yangon, has been charged under section 505A of the penal code, which criminalizes comments that could cause fear or spread false news and is punishable by up to three years in jail.