Pho Thar, 22, started his career as a photojournalist in 2016. He has been working for The Standard Time Daily since 2017. His photo documentary “We are the Champions” was nominated at the 11th Yangon Photo Festival 2019, just before he was sent to jail in April 2019.

Pho Thar is also a member of the satirical poetry troupe Peacock Generation. He and his team performed thangyat, a traditional art form that combines spoken word poetry, comedy and dance during the Thingyan Festival (Myanmar New Year). They wore military uniforms and made a thangyat satire about the military. The performers were found guilty of making fun of the military under the notorious Penal Code Section 505(a), a vaguely worded law often thrown at journalists and activists.