The lead lawyer representing Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her government in the several criminal cases initiated against them by the junta said on Friday that a gag order has been issued preventing him from speaking about Suu Kyi’s cases to the media, foreign diplomats or international organizations.

Lawyer Khin Maung Zaw and his legal team have been one of the only firsthand sources of weekly developments for the public in the nearly 11 cases ongoing against Suu Kyi. The order revokes his right to disclose information pertaining to his clients’ court hearings, including information relating to appearances and testimonies of plaintiffs, witnesses and defendants. It has been issued under Section 144 of the Myanmar Code of Criminal Procedure, a colonial remanent from times when the British government used it to suppress protests during freedom struggles. Today, Section 144 is used by the Myanmar military to suppress dissent by restricting public gatherings and imposing curfews.

The order issued by the local administrator for Napyitaw’s Pyinmana Township states:

Khin Maung Zaw’s communications may cause harassment, hurting a person who is acting in accordance with the law, may cause riots and destabilize the public peace…Some local and foreign media outlets, illegal media outlets and the media are inciting fake information that could destabilize the country.

The order was issued two days after Khin Maung Zaw shared President Win Myint’s court testimony with the media, which revealed that the military had threatened him to resign on 1 February 2021, the day of the coup.