38-year-old Burmese hip-hop artist Byu Har has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for purportedly criticizing the military leadership in Myanmar. His verdict was revealed by a family member who shared the information with the Associated Press. Har’s arrest on May 24 followed a live-stream on Facebook in which he referred to the current government as visually and verbally incompetent and criticized the inability of the electricity minister to ensure an adequate power supply in Yangon.
Har reportedly used his now-deleted Facebook live-stream to verbally lay into the junta’s leaders. Moreover, he revealed his residential address in the video’s caption. The authorities took this as an indirect invitation to respond to the content he had posted, which ultimately led to his arrest. Visit Har’s Facebook page for additional context.
The city of Yangon has seen a drastic increase in daily power outage durations from March to early June, with power cuts of up to eight hours daily. This move was an energy-saving measure, but recent updates have brought the duration back to the original four hours per day. Nonetheless, this disruption in electricity supply has added to the economic challenges brought about by the military’s seizure of power. You can read more about Yangon’s power issues on The Irrawaddy.
The military seized control in February 2021, and since then, the junta has detained many individuals as part of a sweeping campaign to suppress opposition. Har’s recent verdict is yet another instance of this campaign. More details about the extent of the junta’s campaign can be found in a report by a local surveillance entity here.
For more information, consult the full report from JURIST – News.