Amnesty International calls for release of Myanmar journalist Sai Zaw Thaike after six others freed

Amnesty International shared a petition calling for the immediate release of Myanmar Now photojournalist Sai Zaw Thaike, who was sentenced by the regime to 20 years in prison, on Thursday. Sai Zaw Thaike was arrested in May 2023 during a reporting trip to Arakan State to report on the devastation caused by Cyclone Mocha, according to Amnesty International and Myanmar Now. 

“Sai Zaw should be able to report freely. He should also be at home, spending time with his family and doing the things he loves. Instead he is locked up, enduring beatings and periods of solitary confinement,” Amnesty International stated in its press release on Dec. 4. 

Sai Zaw Thaike, 42, is a Myanmar photojournalist who remained inside the country following the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. He was sentenced by a military tribunal in Yangon to 20 years in prison with hard labor for violating Section 505-A of the penal code, which criminalizes spreading “fake news” and “incitement” against the military.