Myanmar sentences BBC reporter to 3 months with hard labor

PanARMENIAN.Net - A BBC reporter in Myanmar has been jailed for three months with hard labor after being convicted of assaulting a police officer while covering a student protest, his lawyer said Tuesday, June 7, according to the Associated Press.

The ruling marks the first time a journalist has been convicted under Myanmar's new government, run by former political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi.

The reporter, Nay Myo Lin, who works for the BBC Myanmar language service, plans to appeal the decision.

His lawyer, Thein Than Oo, called the sentence "unfair," saying that his client had not intentionally hurt the policeman and was trying to help a fellow citizen, AP says.

"It is shameful that the court has issued this sentence," Thein Than Oo said. "The police should not treat journalists as their enemy."

The incident occurred in March 2015 when Nay Myo Lin was covering a protest near Yangon, Myanmar's biggest city, against an education bill that students said was aimed at stifling academic freedom. A policeman knocked a protester off his motorbike and Nay Myo Lin tried to help the man, leading to a scuffle with the officer, Thein Than Oo said.

Nay Myo Lin was convicted of assaulting a public servant and sentenced on Monday by a court in the city of Mandalay, where he is based.