Aizawl: Mizoram experiences fairly cold winters, but it is in April that temperatures really begin to soar. On a particularly hot Tuesday afternoon this April, Simon Clement was seated at Tribe Fiction Cafe in Zarkawt, engrossed in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. With his blue eyes and brown-blonde hair, he was an uncommon sight in Mizoram, where tourists are rare. Just around one month back, he had first stood out at the state’s lone airport in Lengpui.
Simon, a journalist from Belgium, had arrived in Aizawl on February 17, 2025. This was his first visit to the Indian state, from where he would continue his journey to the Indo-Myanmar border to photograph the aftermath of the war-torn country. This was not his first experience in conflict zones. Simon had previously traveled to Syria to document the fall of Assad, as well as to Palestine, Jordan, and Lebanon, with a focus on conflict journalism.
In Myanmar, armed groups have been fighting against the military junta since the 2021 coup. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, at least 6,481 pro-democracy activists and civilians have been killed, of which 1,491 are women and 749 are children. Moreover, 28,994 people have been arrested, with 22,168 still detained. Despite the severe situation, the war in Myanmar has often been referred to as a “Forgotten War,” with international press coverage much sparser compared to similar conflicts. The defense forces fighting on behalf of the people also lack international attention, as well as adequate livelihood and defense support.
This reality drove Simon to document the war’s impact along the border. “It is a forgotten war; one of our duties is to keep covering the conflict and tell the story the world has forgotten. It takes an earthquake to remind people what is happening in Myanmar, and that should not be the case,” he told EastMojo. “A war should not be forgotten, but to end the fighting, we must raise awareness and start the conversation. It is our job to show the humanitarian impact of the war,” he added.
Journalism Fund Europe, an independent, non-profit organization based in Brussels that supports cross-border investigative journalism, described Simon as a freelance photographer who travels to conflict zones to capture portraits of those affected by wars.
The 29-year-old, who completed his Masters in 2021, was inspired by a conflict photojournalist to follow a similar path. This career choice, he said, has granted him a unique opportunity to interact with the world.
On March 5th, as Simon was preparing to fly back home, he was arrested.
While photographing remnants of war in Myanmar, Simon came across some empty bullet cartridges with holes in them, and without any powder. He thought it would make a nice souvenir and packed two of them in his bag. “In five or ten years down the line, I could look back at it and remember this trip,” he explained.
It was these cartridges that led to Simon being locked up in Aizawl’s crowded central jail for 17 days. “I was interrogated many times about my intent for going to Myanmar. At one point, there were 19 police officers questioning me. Even after I proved that I was a journalist, it changed nothing. It only made them more suspicious because of the war zones I had previously traveled to,” he said. Simon was interrogated at least five times, each session lasting 2-3 hours.
He was charged under Section 25(1-B) of the Arms Act of 1959 for possessing the cartridges and for entering Myanmar. However, Section 45 C and D of the same act specify that the law does not apply to obsolete weapons or those that are no longer functional and cannot be used as firearms, whether repaired or not. The law also does not apply to minor parts of arms or ammunition that are not intended to be used in conjunction with complementary parts.
Additionally, Simon was charged under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946, for entering Myanmar without proper travel documents. He clarified that he had only traveled within the region allowed under the Free Movement Regime and had believed that individuals holding Indian visas were permitted to do so.
The state has been under strict surveillance by intelligence agencies since the union government decided to reinforce the Protected Areas Permit (PAP). The Centre had previously relaxed the PAP regime in Mizoram, Nagaland, and Manipur in 2011 to promote tourism. This exemption allowed foreign nationals to visit without a PAP, except for citizens from Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan. This relaxation was periodically extended, with the latest extension due to expire in December 2027. However, security concerns have led to the revocation of this extension.
In a recent assembly session in March, Mizoram’s Chief Minister Lalduhoma expressed concerns that a British mercenary who had fought in the Russia-Ukraine war might have used the state as a passage to join the civil war in Myanmar. He pointed out that nearly 2,000 foreigners had visited Aizawl between June and December last year, but they were rarely seen on the streets. This, he feared, could indicate that their intention was to travel to Myanmar. He also confirmed that the government does not oppose the Centre’s decision to reimpose the PAP and regulate movement along the India-Myanmar border for security reasons.
Sources suggest that security personnel may have suspected Simon to be a mercenary, but even the Chief Minister’s claims about an alleged British mercenary entering Mizoram in the assembly session were rebutted by the lawyers representing the British civilian. They stated that there was no evidence supporting such accusations, and the civilian who was arrested was simply a visitor.
Simon is eager to return home to reunite with his family but is even more eager on resuming his work. He is scheduled to travel to other conflict zones in the coming weeks and months, and each day his court dates are delayed is a setback in his career.
Most recently, his hearing was postponed because the chargesheet was not ready. The forensic lab had made an error by sending a report about the bullets of the British man who was arrested last year. The investigation is now restarting to look into Simon’s two bullets.
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