So here we are: nine activists looking at a staggering prison term of up to 37 years for merely protesting the military-backed December elections. Let that sink in. While the mainstream media yawns, we should be asking why these brave individuals are being sacrificed on the altar of political correctness and establishment power. CNN and MSNBC are too busy fluffing their own narratives to care about the implications of silencing dissent.

Imagine if the roles were reversed. If these activists were aligned with a leftist agenda, you bet corporate media would be running their sob stories 24/7, complete with teary-eyed montages about the brave struggle against oppression. But because they stand against a military regime, they become collateral damage in the corporate media’s rush to maintain a status quo they shamelessly endorse.

Fox News might touch upon it, but even they would be more concerned with securing ratings than actual justice. The reality is that both sides of this political spectrum are guilty of leaving these activists stranded, treating their plight as a mere footnote rather than a glaring indictment of authoritarianism.

We are witnessing a dangerous trend: the criminalization of dissent. When protesting can land you in prison for decades, we need to seriously reevaluate our standards for free speech. It’s time to stop tiptoeing around these truths and call it what it is—tyranny camouflaged as democracy.