The Independent Press Council Myanmar (IPCM) condemned all unjust imprisonments, torture and killings of journalists in Myanmar in a 25 January 2025 statement.

It also called for the perpetrators of such acts to be held accountable.

Nan Paw Gay, the chairperson of the IPCM and Chief Editor of KIC said: “The primary perpetrators are aligned with the junta, and they have carried out arbitrary arrests, imprisonments, torture, and killings targeting journalists during the ongoing conflict. We demand they be punished and prosecuted as they deserve. Currently, the rule of law is still absent in the country, so we are only able to gather information on their crimes, with the intention of presenting it as evidence in future international trials.”

In the nearly four years since the 1 February 2021 coup the junta has arrested around 200 journalists and as of 25 January 2025, 43 journalists have been prosecuted and imprisoned after receiving custodial sentences, according to the IPCM.

Of those, 11 have been sentenced to between 10 years and life imprisonment, whilst the remainder have been sentenced to between three and 10 years.

In addition, the junta has also extrajudicially killed seven journalists.

The ICPM statement pointed out that Myanmar has one of the worst records of any country for persecuting journalists and has some of the worst press freedom in the world, making it very hard for journalists to work.

Elaborating on the problems faced by journalists and media in Myanmar, Nan Paw Gay said: “The challenges ahead for the media industry and journalists are sustainability and security concerns. Myanmar's media outlets may encounter growing difficulties in continuing operations, while journalists could face significant security threats simply for carrying out their press duties.

The junta has revoked the publishing licences of 15 local media outlets because it was unhappy with the way they reported in an unbiased way on violence and human rights abuses committed by the junta following the coup.

The ICPM was set up on 23 December 2023 by independent Myanmar media houses and practitioners both inside the country and in exile to promote media freedom and enhance protection for journalists inside and outside the country. It provides up-to-date information about the media situation in Myanmar to the international community.

The ICPM has also engaged with ethnic resistance organisations to discuss media freedom, and intervened and mediated media disputes between different media organisations.