Reuters journalists jailed in Myanmar over secrets act

Kyaw Soe Oo (left) and Wa Lone after the verdict Image copyright EPA Image caption Kyaw Soe Oo (left) and Wa Lone say they have been framed by the police

A court docket in Myanmar has sentenced Reuters reporters to seven years in prison for violating a state secrets and techniques act even as investigating violence in opposition to Rohingyas.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested at the same time as wearing respectable documents which had just been given to them via police officers.

They have maintained their innocence, saying they had been set up by police.

The case has been broadly observed as a check of press freedom in Myanmar.

“i have no concern,” Wa Lone, one among the two journalists, mentioned after the verdict. “i have now not done anything unsuitable. i think in justice, democracy and freedom.”

Symbol copyright EPA Symbol caption prior to the verdict, other people marched to turn harmony

The UN’s Resident and Humanitarian Co-ordinator in Myanmar Knut Ostby stated the journalists “need to be allowed to return to their households and proceed their paintings as journalists”.

“We proceed to call for their unencumber.”

the decision have been delayed as soon as because of the judge’s unwell well being.

What next for Myanmar after damning document? Myanmar rejects UN ‘genocide’ accusation Seeing during the authentic tale in Myanmar

The ruling comes a yr after the obstacle in Rakhine state came to a head when a Rohingya militant crew attacked several police posts.

the army spoke back with a brutal crackdown against the Rohingya minority. The UN has stated best army figures in Myanmar have to be investigated and prosecuted for genocide.

Media get right of entry to to Rakhine is strictly controlled through the federal government so it’s difficult to get reliable news from the region.

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