Myanmar newspapers go black to protest jailing of journalists

Several newspapers in Myanmar have printed black front pages to protest against recent arrests and jail terms handed out to journalists, reports BBC.

The protest comes after a court Monday jailed a journalist for a year over charges that included "disturbing a public servant" and trespass.

Local journalists and rights groups have called for Zaw Pe's release.

Media in the country, also known as Burma, was heavily censored by the government until recently.

Democratic Voice of Burma video journalist Zaw Pe, 41, is planning to appeal against his conviction, reports say.

According to the Democratic Voice of Burma, he had visited the department of education in Magwe District to do an interview about a Japanese-funded scholarship programme. The paper ran a black cover with the message: "Journalism is not a crime." The protest was repeated across major daily newspapers, BBC Monitoring reports.