Athan report highlights severe suppression of free speech during Myanmar junta’s election

Mizzima

A newly released report by the independent research group Athan outlines a stark nationwide crackdown on freedom of expression connected to the military junta’s general election process.

The report, issued on 19 May, confirms that 215 individuals were detained across Myanmar between July 2025 and March 2026 for exercising their right to voice political opinions or critique the polls.

While the junta executed the vast majority of the detentions arresting 182 individuals, the report indicates that opposition and anti-junta armed entities also carried out arrests against citizens accused of cooperating with or participating in the regime’s electoral machinery.

According to Athan, the National Unity Government (NUG) detained 26 people, People’s Defence Forces (PDFs) arrested five, and an unidentified armed organization accounted for two cases.

To legally justify the widespread silencing of political dissent, the military regime relied heavily on its “Law on the Protection of Multi-Party Democratic General Elections from Obstruction, Disruption, and Destruction.”

Enforcement under this law spiked dramatically in late 2025, peaking in November with 74 documented detentions. At least 106 cases were tried specifically under Section 23(a), which targets public opposition to state procedures. Athan’s research underscores that the regime focused extensively on digital tracking, utilizing pro-junta Telegram channels to systematically monitor, expose, and ordinary citizens who posted critical commentary, shared opposition pamphlets, or simply reacted with negative emojis to state media posts on social media.

The profile of the 215 detainees includes 120 ordinary civilians, 52 politicians, and a notable number of prominent activists and cultural figures. The geographic breakdown shows that urban and conflict-heavy territories felt the brunt of the arrests, led by Yangon Region with 45 cases, followed by Bago Region with 37 cases, and Karen State with 35 cases.

The judiciary handed out severe, multi-year prison sentences with hard labour to both public figures and ordinary citizens. In Shan State, a resident named Ko Nay Thway received a seven-year sentence under Section 23(a) for criticizing the polls online.

Similarly, prominent cultural figures including film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut, and comedian Ohn Dai were sentenced to seven years in prison for criticizing state election propaganda films.

The report also reveals that the clampdown targeted vulnerable groups, recording the arrests of nine youths, including three minors under the age of 18. In Mon State’s Kyaikto Township, three young people were jailed for possessing anti-election literature, while two others were forcibly funnelled into the military’s ongoing national conscription drive. Independent media operations, including AAMIJ News and Khit Thit Media, were also subjected to aggressive legal targeting.

Athan concluded that these legal mechanisms were entirely disconnected from legitimate public safety. Instead, the group maintains that the heavily controlled voting phases constituted a “sham” election designed solely to institutionalize and prolong military governance amid a collapsing economy and widespread domestic resistance.