Myanmar’s military regime attempted to file multiple charges against five of the country’s exiled independent media outlets through the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) on October 6. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate, the Exiled Myanmar Journalists Network (Exiled-MJN), condemn the military junta’s misguided attempts to use international cross-border policing to expand its media crackdowns to silence critical journalism.
On Oct. 6, the junta’s so-called deputy home affairs minister, Min Thu, advised that the regime had filed multiple “red notices” through INTERPOL against exiled media outlets Myanmar Now, Khit Thit, Irrawaddy, Mizzima and DVB.
A red notice is a global alert for law enforcement to track and detain a suspect. The junta also reported it had targeted figures from opponents, the National Unity Government and the People’s Defence Forces with red notices.
But Article 3 of the Interpol Constitution states that it is “strictly forbidden for the Organization to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character”.
Interpol’s internal legal frameworks also enforce strict protections against the weaponisation of the agency by authoritarian regimes.
According to state-sponsored media, the junta charged exiled journalists under anti-terrorism laws, revoking passports and had filed the red notices in an attempt to begin extradition processes.
Min Thu’s comments were reported following questions from a member of the military’s proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), Than Than Aye, who asked what was being done to arrest people who were sowing mischief against the junta.
Khit Thit, The Irrawaddy, and DVB all report in exile from Thailand; Myanmar Now reports from Australia; and Mizzima is continuing to report through a distributed communication network operating inside Myanmar.
The outlets were forced into exile when the military regime revoked their licenses following the 2021 military coup. Since 2021, at least seven journalists have been killed, according to IFJ affiliate Exiled-MJN.
As of September 2026, the International Centre for Not-for-Profit Law recorded at least 227 journalists detained by the junta, with 100 sentenced to a combined total of 549 years in prison. As of August 2026, 20 journalists remain in prison.
The regime claims it has revoked the passports of over 1,300 opposition figures who fled the country and is monitoring and blacklisting Myanmar nationals who support anti-government activities from abroad, including the country’s permanent representative to the U.N.
The IFJ, along with other global trade union federations, jointly condemned the junta’s “sham elections” in December 2025. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and human rights bodies have consistently condemned the military’s widespread violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, citing mass displacement, air strikes on civilians, and the imprisonment of over 20,000 political prisoners.
Exiled-MJN said: “Exiled journalists currently living in border areas and neighbouring countries often have to live without legal documentation or rely on migrant worker documents to remain in their host countries. These circumstances leave them vulnerable to arbitrary targeting, threats, and the misuse of legal mechanisms at any time. The possibility that these journalists could be handed over to the Myanmar military further intensifies their psychological distress, anxiety, and fear for their safety. This latest development is evidence of the Myanmar military junta’s efforts to endanger, intimidate, and suppress journalists not only inside Myanmar but also those who have fled the country and are living in exile. We urge the international community to take action to prevent such attempts by the Myanmar military junta and to ensure that Myanmar journalists and media outlets are protected and can carry out their journalistic work freely and safely.”
The IFJ said: “Myanmar’s junta will stop at nothing to try to legitimize itself in the world’s eyes and to expand its repression against the brave and determined media and journalists who continue to expose its gross violations against its own people. We continue to stand against this brutal regime with our colleagues both inside and outside Myanmar.”
For further information contact IFJ Asia – Pacific on [email protected]
