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Burma jails journalist Ngwe Soe Lin for 13 years

29 January 2010 20:56 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. A military court in Burma has sentenced a journalist to 13 years in prison for working illegally for foreign media organizations, his lawyer has said, APA reports quoting BBC.
Ngwe Soe Lin, who reported for the Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma, was convicted of violating immigration laws and the Electronics Act.
His lawyer, Aung Thein, said there was no proof he had broken any law and would appeal against the conviction.
Most foreign journalists are banned in Burma and the state censors all media.
Ngwe Soe Lin was arrested as he left an internet cafe in the Rangoon area of Kyaukmyaung in June 2009. After being interrogated for two months, he was sent to the city’s notorious Insein prison, where his sentence was handed down on Wednesday.
According to the Burma Media Association, which is based in neighboring Thailand, 14 reporters were arrested in Burma in 2009.
Correspondents say the detentions were part of a continued crackdown by the military authorities on those involved in the mass anti-government protests in September 2007.
In December, freelance journalist Hla Hla Win was jailed for 20 years on similar charges to Ngwe Soe Lin after a military court found she had provided video for the Democratic Voice of Burma.