Burmese Photographer Sentenced to 10 More Years

A court in Burma added another ten years to the prison sentence of an independent news photographer, said international watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Thursday, who condemned the move.

RSF said 21-year-old Democratic Voice of Burma reporter Sithu Zeya has a combined sentence of 18 years in prison.

“How can the Burmese government claim to be on the road to democracy when its judicial system flouts fundamental human rights?” said RSF in a statement.

“Recent events show that the conciliatory gestures so far taken by this government are just part of a PR strategy and are not indicative of a real intention to give Burmese citizens more media freedom,” it added.

Sithu Zeya was first sentenced in 2010 to eight years in jail for photographing the aftermath of a grenade attack in the city of Yangon. He received another 10 years on Wednesday because he posted photos on the Internet that could “damage tranquility and unity in the government” under the Electronic Act, according to RSF.

Burma, which was renamed to Myanmar under the current junta, has been ruled by an authoritarian military regime since 1962. The country in March said it handed over power to a civilian government, but most international observers say that it is just a show, and the elections last November were not legitimate.