YANGON: A Myanmar court has handed down a 13-year jail term to a journalist for working for exiled media, his legal counsel said today, as the ruling junta continues its crackdown on dissent.

Ngwe Soe Lin was sentenced on Wednesday after being arrested for working for the Myanmar exile broadcaster Democratic Voice of Burma, based in Norwegian capital Oslo, lawyer Aung Thein told AFP. "Ngwe Soe Lin was sentenced to 13 years in prison on Wednesday at a special court in Insein prison," Aung Thein said. There was no immediate confirmation of the sentence from authorities in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, which remains under tight US and EU sanctions because of its human rights records.

Aung Thein added that Ngwe Soe Lin would appeal the ruling, which sentenced him to 10 years in jail for violation of the country's Electronics Act and another three years under the Immigration Emergency Provisions Act.

Aye Chan Naing, the head of Democratic Voice of Burma, told AFP that he believed the junta was attempting to seize greater control over media ahead of elections planned for later this year.