PRESS FREEDOM UNDER ATTACK
Two Reuters journalists accused of breaching Myanmar’s state secrets law while reporting on a massacre of Rohingya Muslims have been jailed for 7 years, sparking international outrage
The offence
Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were charged with violating a draconian British-era law. “The culprits intended to harm the interests of the state. And so they have been found guilty under the state secrets act,” Judge Ye Lwin told the court in Yangon
The defence
The two journalists, who have been held in Yangon's Insein prison since their arrest in December, denied the charges, insisting they were set up while exposing the extrajudicial killing of 10 Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine village of Inn Din last September
Courtroom drama
Kyaw Soe Oo's wife Chit Su Win wept after the verdict, collapsing on the ground in tears as she filed out of the sweltering courtroom along with other shell-shocked family members, reporters and diplomats.
"The government can detain us in the prison but... can't close the ears and eyes of the people," Kyaw Soe Oo said
"We will face the verdict with courage," said Wa Lone, whose wife gave birth to a daughter less than a month ago
Outrage
The UN in Myanmar, the US and the European Union condemned the verdict and reiterated calls for the reporters' release, while rights groups added their voices to the criticism
"I'm sad for Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo and their families, but also for Myanmar. It's deeply troubling for everybody who has struggled so hard here for media freedom.” SCOT MARCIEL, US ambassador to Myanmar
"Freedom of expression and rule of law are fundamental in a democracy, and this case has passed a long shadow over both today.” DAN CHUGG,
British ambassador to Myanmar