Some newspapers in Myanmar are taking a stand against a crackdown on journalists by printing black front pages with messages decrying the recent sentencing of Zaw Pe.

The case has alarmed media watchers, who worry the government is returning the Burmese press to censorship levels last seen under its previous military rule.

Pe, who worked for the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), received a conviction for "disturbing a civil servant" and "trespassing," according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The case stemmed from an attempt by Pe, who was accompanied by Win Myint Hlaing, the father of a student, to interview an education official.

The official then lodged a complaint against Pe and Hlaing. Earlier this week, a court found Pe guilty and sentenced him to one year in prison.

"DVB has condemned Zaw [Pe]’s conviction, pointing out that he was just doing his job as a journalist by investigating a subject of general interest," Reporters Without Borders wrote in a statement. "Zaw Phay’s lawyer, Thein Tun, told Reporters Without Borders that Zaw Phay defied a ban – imposed in a completely illegal manner by the local authorities –- on taking photos of government buildings."

After the rise of a civilian government Myanmar in 2011, the country's press enjoyed a level of freedom that had not been allowed during the almost 50 years of military rule. Daily newspapers resumed publishing, censorship was scaled back and jail journalists were freed. The improved situation belied the reality that the government still kept the media under close watch.

A recent media censorship law passed by the country's parliament gives the government broad powers to limit the media.

"Today's conviction of journalist Zaw Pe is the latest indication that Burma's once-promising democratic reform program is rapidly being reversed," Shawn Crispin, senior Southeast Asia representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists, wrote in a statement.

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