BURMA: COURT EXTENDS SENTENCE OF REPORTER,

C O N F I D E N T I A L RANGOON 000005 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/MLS, DRL, AND IO PACOM FOR FPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/06/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM BM SUBJECT: BURMA: COURT EXTENDS SENTENCE OF REPORTER, ASSOCIATE Classified By: Political Officer Marc Shaw for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) ¶1. (C) An Embassy source confirmed media reports that a Pakkoku District court added two decades to the seven-year prison sentences of Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) reporter Hla Hla Win and her associate, Myint Naing. The two initially were arrested in September 2009 and subsequently sentenced in October 2009 to seven years each by a Pakkoku Township court for riding a motorcycle that had not been properly registered. They reportedly had visited a monastery to interview monks shortly before being arrested. ¶2. (C) On December 31, 2009, the district court added 20 more years to Hla Hla Win's term for violating the Electronic Transactions Act, and tacked on eighteen years to Myint Naing's sentence for two unspecified charges. Lawyers were not permitted into the courtroom during the hearings, according to the Embassy's source. ¶3. (C) Although Hla Hla Win reportedly is a supporter of the democracy movement, our source indicated she is not a high-profile activist or student leader. Likely, her participation in the 2007 monk-led demonstrations and her reporting for DVB brought her to the attention of the authorities. DINGER