Myanmar Among Worst Offenders for Impunity in Journalist Killings

November 1, 2024 – Myanmar –

Myanmar has earned a grim reputation in press freedom, ranking 10th on the 2024 Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Global Impunity Index, just behind Afghanistan and ahead of Pakistan, indicating widespread failure to hold killers of journalists accountable.

This index highlights that nearly 80% of journalist murders globally remain unresolved—a figure that rises dramatically in conflict and authoritarian contexts, including Myanmar. The country debuted on the index in 2022 at eighth place following the military coup that intensified violence and repression against reporters.

The implication is stark: Myanmar’s military junta no longer merely jails or harasses journalists—it tolerates lethal violence against them, with impunity. Since the coup, at least four journalists have been killed in 2024, making it the deadliest year for the media since 2021. Notably, freelance reporters Win Htut Oo and Htet Myat Thu were shot dead during a military raid on their home in Mon state in August 2024. Earlier in that same week, documentarian Pe Maung Sein died from injuries sustained while in military detention—a harrowing testament to the junta’s brutality.

Meanwhile, dozens of journalists are jailed under harsh, terrorism-related charges. Photojournalist Sai Zaw Thaike was sentenced to 20 years after covering Cyclone Mocha and reportedly faces torture and forced labor in Insein Prison for exposing abuses. This crackdown extends beyond intimidation, creating a system where journalists are criminalized, detained, or killed, and perpetrators face no consequences.

Reporters Without Borders has labeled these killings and arrests part of a “terror campaign,” further eroding any remaining space for independent reporting. The junta has revoked press licenses, banned independent outlets, and imposed sweeping censorship laws, transforming once vibrant media into fractured, underground networks.

For Myanmar to exit the global Impunity Index, it must confront this culture of violence: by investigating journalist murders, prosecuting perpetrators within an independent judiciary, releasing political prisoners, and reopening spaces for factual reporting. Until then, Myanmar remains one of the deadliest and most unreformed environments for journalism—a stark warning that democracy cannot thrive where truth-tellers are silenced with impunity.

Reference –

https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-ranks-10th-for-impunity-in-killing-journalists.html