Throughout the month of July, AAPP documented the arrest of 11 activists, sentencing of 21 activists, and the release of 2 political prisoners. Of the eleven arrested activists, two were freed. These numbers indicate that the government’s trend of incarcerating political prisoners continues.
This month saw a number of arrests and incarcerations made by Burmese authorities for media related cases. Despite Parliament recently passing the New Media Law, the government has clamped down on the activities and freedoms of media professionals. On July 10, 2014, five employees of Unity Journal were sentenced to ten years hard labor for publishing an article in January about an alleged secret weapons factory. The sentence has sparked both international and domestic political criticism.
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma)