Journalists Who Fled Myanmar Find Third-Country Refuge

BANGKOK - Three journalists from military-ruled Myanmar who were convicted of illegal entry after they fled to Thailand have been sent to a third country where they are safe, their employer said Monday.

The three staff members of the Democratic Voice of Burma, better known as DVB, were arrested on May 9 in the northern Thai province of Chiang Mai along with two other people from Myanmar described as activists. On May 28, they each were fined $128 (4,000 baht) and sentenced to seven months' imprisonment, suspended for a year. Rights groups and journalists' associations had urged Thai authorities not to send them back to Myanmar, where it was feared their safety would be at risk from the authorities. Thailand's government has relatively cordial relations with Myanmar's military regime. Myanmar's junta seized power in February by ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, and has attempted to crush widespread opposition to its takeover with a brutal crackdown that has left hundreds dead. The junta has tried to silence independent news media by withdrawing their licenses and by arresting journalists.