Myanmar media CEO detained after Rolex wearing minister brings defamation lawsuit

2-MIN READ2-MIN

Than Htut Aung (C), CEO of the Eleven Media Group, is escorted by police while leaving the court in Yangon on November 11, 2016. Than Htut Aung, the head of the major Myanmar media group, was detained on November 11 after a minister sued him for writing an allegedly defamatory column about the politician and his ties to businessmen. / AFP PHOTO / ROMEO GACAD

Published: 2:25pm, 12 Nov 2016Updated: 2:25pm, 12 Nov 2016

The head of a major Myanmar media group was detained on Friday after a minister sued him for writing an allegedly defamatory column about the politician and his ties to businessmen.

Than Htut Aung, CEO of the Eleven Media Group, which publishes a number of prominent newspapers and websites, was seen by an AFP photographer wearing handcuffs inside a Yangon police station on Friday.

Police did not respond to requests for information. But on Thursday investigators said they were seeking the media mogul’s arrest after he failed to respond to a defamation summons.

In a column published on Monday, Than Htut Aung accused veteran democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi’s government of failing to tackle the country’s famously entrenched corruption and crony capitalism since winning elections last year.

The Eleven Media Group headquarters is seen in Yangon. Photo: AFP

The piece also referred to “social media stories” accusing a minister of wearing a US$100,000 Patek Philippe watch allegedly given to him by a businessman who served jail time on drugs charges and later won plum contracts. The minister and businessman were not named in the piece but both called press conferences to deny the allegations.