OnlyFans Model Jailed for ‘Harming Culture’ After Protests Against Military Junta

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Aung Kyaw Moe, an advisor who works for the shadow government Myanmar’s National Unity Government and self-professed member of the Rohingya community, told Vice that if Nang Mwe San “is not free to exercise her rights to sell sexy photos, no other woman is free to exercise their rights.”

The Section 33a statute broadly threatens users with jail time for actions “detrimental to security of the state or prevalence of law and order or community peace and tranquility or national solidarity or national economy or national culture.” The law was put in place in 2004 by the country’s previous military dictatorship but had never been repealed, according to a 2013 report by Human Rights Watch. It has had a chilling effect on internet speech, especially for those who post adult content online.

Because Nang Mwe San is from the North Dagon township, which lingers under martial law for ongoing protests against the military junta, she was hit with a quick sentence by the military itself, according to DVB.

The independent media organization Myanmar Now reported in August, based on Junta-controlled media reports, that the military government had arrested Nang Mwe San at the same time as film actor Thinszar Wint Kyaw, who is facing the same charges. The latter also reportedly posted pictures of herself on Exantria, a site similar to OnlyFans that’s popular in Myanmar. Nang Mwe San was also active on Exantria, but since Thinzar Wint Kyaw was from a province not under martial law, her case is being tried in civil court, according to Radio Free Asia.

But as much as the country’s military dictatorship wants to make this a case about Burmese culture, human rights groups and anti-Myanmar junta activists have condemned the arrests and sentencing as politically motivated. Thinszar Wint Kyaw had previously been seen at a wedding wearing a uniform of the Shan State Progressive Party, a guerilla outfit that’s battled on and off with Myanmar’s military for years.

An unnamed Burmese lawyer cited by RFA decried the ruling, saying, “Myanmar’s culture will not benefit” from these arrests. The lawyer added that Section 33 of the ECA is too vague of what’s considered “harmful” to the country’s culture.

Post-coup, the Burmese military has arrested approximately 15,586 people and killed another 2,326, according to advocacy group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. The ruling junta has continued its genocidal rampage against the Muslim-majority Rohingya people that started in 2016 under the democratic government.