Media Groups Urge Thai Govt Not to Deport Detained Myanmar Journalists
Media Groups Urge Thai Govt Not to Deport Detained Myanmar Journalists
Thai authorities conduct a search at the residence of DVB reporters in Chiang Mai on Sunday.
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By The Irrawaddy 11 May 2021
A press freedom advocacy group and a foreign correspondents’ organization in Thailand have urged authorities there to refrain from deporting three Myanmar journalists working for Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) who were arrested in northern Thailand on Sunday for illegal entry into the country.
The DVB said in a statement that three of its journalists were arrested in the Thai city of Chiang Mai’s San Sai district during a random search on Sunday and charged with illegal entry. The statement said all three had covered the anti-coup demonstrations that have been taking place in Myanmar since the military seized power in a Feb. 1 coup.
Thailand urged not to repatriate reporters who fled Myanmar
CHALIDA EKVITTHAYAVECHNUKUL , Associated Press
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1of5In this photo released by the San Sai District Administrative Office, a Thai officer checks the temperature of journalists working for Democratic Voice of Burma, at San Sai District in Chiang Mai province north of Thailand Sunday, May 9, 2021. Three senior journalists working for the online and broadcast news agency in Myanmar who fled after the military government ordered its operations to stop have been arrested by police in northern Thailand, their editor said Monday. (San Sai District Administrative Office via AP)APShow MoreShow Less
2of5In this photo released by the San Sai District Administrative Office, journalists working for Democratic Voice of Burma, prepare to get into a van after being arrested at San Sai District in Chiang Mai province north of Thailand Sunday, May 9, 2021. Three senior journalists working for the onlin
Arrest of journalists a litmus test for how Thailand treats those fleeing persecution in Myanmar
AP
Three senior reporters who fled Myanmar for Thailand after the brutal military coup “face certain arrest and persecution” if they are deported following their arrest in Chiang Mai on Sunday, journalist groups say.
The three are prominent journalists with the independent Burmese news agency Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) and were detained in the northern Thai city after a random police search, their editor said in a statement Monday.
They, along with two unnamed activists, have been charged with illegally entering the country.
The case could be the biggest test yet for how Thailand decides to treat those fleeing persecution from Myanmar in the wake of the coup.
Thailand urged not to repatriate reporters who fled Myanmar
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BANGKOK (AP) – Rights organizations and reporters’ groups urged Thai authorities on Tuesday not to repatriate three journalists who fled to Thailand from military-run Myanmar, saying they would face arrest and possible physical harm.
The journalists work for the Democratic Voice of Burma, or DVB, an online and broadcast news agency, its executive director and chief editor, Aye Chan Naing, said Monday. Burma is the former name for Myanmar and is still used by some opponents of military rule.
He said the three, along with two activists, were arrested Sunday in the northern province of Chiang Mai during a random search by police. They were charged with illegal entry into Thailand.