Myanmar junta denies journalist Sai Zaw Thaike medical care, adding to pattern of prison abuse

Bangkok, April 27, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Myanmar’s military junta to immediately provide journalist Sai Zaw Thaike with adequate medical care after sources at Insein Prison in the country’s largest city Yangon said authorities have refused him treatment for grave health conditions.

Sai Zaw Thaike, a photojournalist with the independent Myanmar Now who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for treason, is suffering from severe kidney disease and hemorrhoids and requires urgent major surgery, according to a Myanmar Now report and confirmed to CPJ by the exile-run publication’s editor-in-chief Swe Win.

Prison authorities have refused to allow him access to either the prison hospital or an external medical facility, and are treating him only with oral medication, those sources said. It remains unclear whether the medicines required are even available inside the prison, they said.

“Every day that passes without journalist Sai Zaw Thaike receiving the surgery he needs is a day his life is placed at greater risk,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “Myanmar’s junta must immediately end its abuse of the reporter and grant him access to medical treatment without delay.”

Sai Zaw Thaike was arrested by the military in Sittwe in May 2023 while covering the destruction caused by Cyclone Mocha in Rakhine state. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison with hard labor later that year.

In January 2025, Sai Zaw Thaike was subjected to “daily physical abuse” and “retaliatory torture.”

The abuse was believed to be in response to Sai Zaw Thaike and two other prisoners informing visiting National Human Rights Commission representatives that prison staff were violating other inmates’ human rights, Myanmar Now said, citing a source connected to the prison. 

Myanmar Now reported that it attempted to contact prison authorities for comment about the Sai Zaw Thaike’s condition, but received no response. CPJ also sought comment from junta officials via email but did not receive a reply. 

Myanmar currently holds at least 18 journalists behind bars, according to CPJ data, and ranked second worldwide on CPJ’s annual prison census conducted on December 1, 2025.