NEW DELHI: Two Reuters journalists accused of breaking Myanmar’s Official Secrets Act have been found guilty and sentenced to seven years each in jail, a Yangon court has decided. Today is a sad day for Myanmar, Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, and the press everywhere,” Reuters Editor-in-Chief Stephen Adler said in a statement, commenting on the verdict.
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo had been reporting on the brutal crackdown on the Rohingya when they were arrested and charged with to violating the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. They had pleaded not guilty, contending that they were framed by police.
The trial has taken an enormous toll on Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo’s young families. Kyaw Soe Oo’s wife, Chit Su Win, moved to Yangon with their 3-year-old daughter to attend the hearings, while Wa Lone has yet to see his daughter, who was born just three weeks ago.
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.
