Myanmar’s junta published an amendment to the existing broadcast media law, adding prison sentences, on 1 November.

The cash penalty from a minimum 30 million kyats to maximum 50 million kyats in Section 96 under the 2015 Broadcasting Law was increased to ‘minimum 3 to maximum 5 years imprisonment, or minimum 30 to maximum 50 million kyats, or both’.

Moreover, under Section 97 of the same law, the provision from minimum 5 million kyats to maximum 10 million kyats was substituted with ‘minimum 6 months to maximum 1 year in prison, or from minimum 5 million kyats to maximum 10 million kyats, or both’.

A veteran journalist, U Myint Kyaw, said the amendments appears to impose imprisonment in relation to video and radio reports online.