Political scientist and NLD member Myo Yan Naung Thein was arrested in Yangon last night and charged under Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law.
Commander Linn Htun from the Yangon Command filed a complaint against Myo Yan Naung Thein at the Hlaing Township police station. Police arrested him at the Yuzana Hotel in Bahan Township.
An officer from the Hlaing Township police station told The Voice: “At this time we cannot offer any details as we are still investigating. We arrested [Myo Yan Naung Thein] at the hotel where he was staying. He was arrested because he insulted the military on Facebook.”
The arrest is reportedly a response to the NLD member’s Facebook post on October 14, which calls for Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to resign over the Tatmadaw’s handling of recent attacks on police in Rakhine State.
Eleven staff members from the Myanmar Herald Journal were prosecuted and fined in 2014 for publishing an interview with Myo Yan Naung Thein, in which the political scientist referred to the words of then-president Thein Sein as “gibberish, irrational, cheap, and inconsistent…completely nonsensical, absurd and insane.”
Myo Yan Naung Thein is the secretary of the NLD’s Central Research Management Team. He is also the founder of the Bayda Institute, the party’s educational arm.
Section 66(d) prohibits extorting, coercing, restraining wrongfully, defaming, disturbing, causing undue influence or threatening any person by using media platforms. However, it is primarily invoked to punish social media users who criticise the Myanmar government or military.
