Three reporters and two activists from Myanmar have been arrested in Thailand for illegal entry. They face possible deportation, said the reporters’ news organization and local police.
Broadcaster DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) said the five journalists were arrested on Sunday in the northern city of Chiang Mai.
Reuters reported that the media organization has already appealed to Thai authorities not to deport the journalists back to their country where the news organization has been banned.
“Their life will be in serious danger if they were to return,” said Aye Chan Naing, DVB’s executive director, in a statement.
The group also appealed to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for help.
The statement said the journalists fled the army crackdown in Myanmar since the February 1 coup, during which dozens of journalists have been among thousands of people arrested.
DVB and several other independent media organizations had their licenses revoked.
Thapanapong Chairangsri, head of police in the San Sai district outside Chiang Mai, told Reuters that five Myanmar citizens had been arrested for entering the country illegally and would be brought to court on Tuesday.
He said they would be deported in accordance with the law, but added that because of the coronavirus outbreak they would be held in detention for 14 days before being handed to immigration authorities.
