CPJ demands Myanmar rebels immediately release female journalist
Myanmar’s Arakan Army must account for and immediately release local Border News Agency (BNA) reporter Mu Dra, who was abducted by the rebel group’s forces on 20 September, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has said.
“All combatants in Myanmar’s civil war have a responsibility to protect and not target journalists in retaliation for their news reporting,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “The Arakan Army must release reporter Mu Dra now and allow all journalists to report freely on the conflict in Rakhine state.”
Mu Dra was taken from her home in the Rakhine state city of Maungdaw at about 11:00am on 20 September, according to a Border News Agency statement issued on 22 September and CPJ’s email communication with the outlet’s editor-in-chief, Kaung Mrat Naing. As of 24 September, she was still being held.
She is being held incommunicado at the Arakan Army’s intelligence office, those sources said.
“They took her from her home, so those who took her have the responsibility to return her home. That is, if they respect and abide by the law,” Naing told Mizzima, another local news outlet.
He added that Mudra’s father was allowed to meet her on 21 September.
“They said she would be released if instructed by higher authorities. They mentioned detention was due to an interview about Myo village,” he said.
Although the exact reason for her detention remains unclear, sources close to the matter believe it may be linked to a 9 September BNA report titled “Myo Children Studying at School.”
Naing told CPJ that Mu Dra reports on human rights and conflict issues in Rakhine state, including regular documentation of forced recruitment, abductions, and violence against vulnerable populations.
Arakan Army spokesperson Khine Thu Kha did not immediately respond to CPJ’s emailed request for comment sent through the group’s website.
Mizzima contacted ULA/AA spokesperson U Khaing Thukha regarding Mudra’s detention, but no response has been received.
BNA said it hopes any misunderstandings can be resolved with “magnanimity and understanding” and called on the ULA/AA to consider her family’s concerns, respect international law, and ensure her safe return.
The Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group formed in 2009 and fighting for autonomy from military government control, currently controls 14 of Rakhine state’s 17 townships, according to news reports.
Rebel groups have targeted and detained journalists since the nation’s long-running civil war escalated following the 2021 military coup, according to CPJ’s reporting. Myanmar was the world’s third-worst jailer of journalists, with 35 behind bars, in CPJ’s latest annual prison census.
