NLD party members sued for defamation after sharing photo of village administrator in court

Two NLD party members have been detained under Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law and will be remanded today, authorities confirm.

The defendants, Thet Thet Maw and Kyaw Myo Lwin, are members of the NLD branch in the town of Lewe.

Thet Thet Maw had taken a photo of a local village administrator who is being tried for allegedly misusing public funds, and was in handcuffs on his way out of the courtroom following a hearing. She then wrote about the case and uploaded the photo onto her Facebook page, and Kyaw Myo Lwin later shared the post from his own account.

Maung Win Soe Thu, a villager from the administrator’s village, saw the posts and consequently opened a case against the pair under Section 66(d). An officer from the Lewe Police Station confirmed to Kumudra that Thet Thet Maw and Kyaw Myo Lwin are in custody, and will be remanded later today.

Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law broadly prohibits online ‘defamation,’ often in regards to political dissent and satire. Last month, 61 Myanmar and international rights groups, including Amnesty International and ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, called on Myanmar’s Ministry of Transport and Communication and the parliament to repeal the law.

James Gomez, Amnesty International’s director for South East Asia and the Pacific, said: “In the last year, we’ve seen an alarming increase in the number of people being arrested and charged for their peaceful online activities – in some cases, simply sharing images or articles which mock the military or the government. This has to stop. The government must repeal or amend repressive laws to ensure that no one can be jailed for peacefully expressing their ideas and opinions.”