Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is relieved by the release of Myanmar journalist and filmmaker Shin Daewe, who had been detained since October 2023 on the bogus charge of “abetting” terrorism. A laureate of the RSF Press Freedom Award, she has been persecuted by the military regime for her unwavering independent journalism. 

On April 17, after 915 days of living a nightmare, Shin Daewe returned home following her release under an amnesty. A former contributor to the US broadcaster Radio Free Asia (RFA), she was arrested and detained by Myanmar soldiers in October 2023 in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, while working on a documentary. RFA contacted RSF to confirm her release and express its joy and relief at her return home.

In January 2024, a military court sentenced the detained journalist to life imprisonment under section 50(j) of the Counter-Terrorism Law, which was later reduced to 15 years. While in jail, she was interrogated repeatedly and tortured, according to her husband. He told RFA he had seen evidence of violence during two prison visits, including “stitches on her head and wounds on her arms.”

“The release of Shin Daewe is an immense relief, first and foremost for her loved ones, but also for the entire Myanmar journalism community. It must be made clear that she should never have been arrested, nor subjected to mistreatment. We now call on the Myanmar regime to immediately release the 40 journalists still detained in the country, according to the RSF barometer,” said Cédric Alviani, the director of RSF Asia-Pacific.

RSF has long campaigned for the release of Shin Daewe, who is known for her work on environmental issues and the impact of the civil war in Myanmar. She has won multiple awards, including the 2025 RSF Press Freedom Prize for Independence, awarded while she was still in detention.

Myanmar ranks 169th out of 180 countries and territories in the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Index. The country is the world’s second-largest jailer of journalists, just behind China.

RSF