WEB DESK
A court in Myanmar has sentenced two Reuters journalists to seven years in prison for violating a state secrets act while investigating violence against Rohingyas.
Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were convicted for collecting state secrets, a court in Yangon ruled. They had investigated a massacre of 10 Rohingya in Rakhine. The UN condemned the ruling, demanding the reporters’ release.
The two reporters, who work for the global news agency Reuters, had pleaded not guilty to violating the colonial-era Official Secrets Act and argued that they had been framed by police. On Monday, a court in the capital Yangon sentenced them to seven years in prison.
Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, both Myanmar nationals, testified they received harsh treatment during their initial interrogations. Several appeals for release were denied.
“I have no fear,” Wa Lone said after the verdict. “I have not done anything wrong….I believe in justice, democracy and freedom.” Reuters Editor-in-Chief Stephen J. Adler said the “verdict must be corrected by the Myanmar government as a matter of urgency.” He also called the verdict “a major step backwards for Myanmar’s transition to democracy.”