Dawei Watch news website employees arrested by Myanmar junta

News reports say that on the night of January 18 through 19, authorities arrested Dawei Watch journalists Ko Zaw and Ma Moe Myint and web designer Ko Thar Gyi at their homes in Dawei, the capital of the southern Tanintharyi region. The reports stated that Ko Zaw was handcuffed and taken from his home.

The Irrawaddy reported that Dawei Watch employees were not aware of the reason for their detention nor where they were being held Dawei Watch's office was also raided by authorities, who seized documents and other items, reports said.

Dawei Watch, a news outlet established in 2012, covers news in southern Myanmar, including the area's anti-coup protests, according to the outlet's website and Facebook page, which has about 380,000 followers.

The junta says it respects the role of the media but will not tolerate false or inciting reports. After seizing power in a coup in February 2021, the junta has revoked broadcast licenses and arrested dozens of journalists. Myanmar authorities have killed at least three journalists since the army seized power on February 1, 2021. 
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called the recent deaths of journalists "an indication of the increasingly abusive tactics being used by the junta." Myanmar is the second-worst jailer of journalists in the world, behind only China, according to the CPJ's most recent prison census. 

* This article contains information sourced from the Committee to Protect Journalists.