Journalists sentenced to seven years in prison

MYANMAR - A Myanmar court has sentenced two Reuters journalists to seven years in prison for breaking the Official Secrets Act while investigating a massacre of Rohingya Muslims.

Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were originally detained in December 2017 after working on an investigation into the mass killing of a number of Rohingya villagers in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. The violence was part of a conflict which the UN has described as a form of “ethnic cleansing,” with military operations forcing more than 700,000 Rohingya, a minority Muslim group, to flee Myanmar to Bangladesh. The two journalists were charged with breaching the colonial-era act, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison, in July. The two men, both Myanmar nationals, pleaded not guilty. The verdict was due last Monday, but the judge delayed it saying he was too ill to attend court that day. Following the guilty verdict at the Yangon court Kyaw maintained the pair’s innocence, but added that they were unsurprised by the verdict. “We didn’t do anything wrong,” he said. “We’re not exactly shocked by the verdict.” The reporters were bustled from the court where a small crowd of supporters momentarily blocked policemen from pushing them into a vehicle to take them back to jail.

Both journalists testified in court that two police officers, who they had not previously met, had given them papers relating to their investigation during a meeting in a Yangon restaurant. Shortly after, they were arrested by plainclothes officers. In April, a Myanmar police officer, Moe Yan Naing, testified that he had witnessed a plot by senior police to frame the two journalists by planting secret documents on them. The case has been viewed as a litmus test of press freedom and democratic rights in the Southeast Asian country. Monday’s verdict prompted immediate international censure and increased criticism of Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has also faced a loss in support for her handling of the Rohingya issue. (CNN)