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MYANMAR-ROHINGYA-REUTERS-MEDIA-JUSTICE
Myanmar frees two Reuters journalists in amnesty: video
YANGON, May 7, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Two Reuters journalists who had been
jailed for their reporting on the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar walked out of
prison Tuesday, freed in a presidential amnesty.
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, were mobbed by media as they stepped out of
Yangon’s notorious Insein prison after their lengthy detention, videos
showed.
“We are enormously pleased that Myanmar has released our courageous
reporters,” Reuters editor-in-chief Stephen Adler said in a statement.
“Since their arrests 511 days ago, they have become symbols of the
importance of press freedom around the world. We welcome their return.”
The pair have been behind bars since their arrest in December 2017 under
the colonial-era Official Secrets Act.
They were convicted of possessing classified documents relating to security
operations in Rakhine during a brutal military crackdown against Rohingya
Muslims.
Supporters believe the pair were punished for investigating a massacre of
10 Rohingya in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state in September 2017.
The story earned the team the Pulitzer, one of the top honours in
journalism.
Myanmar’s armed forces insist the brutal campaign in Rakhine was justified
as a means to root out Rohingya militants. But soldiers involved in the
massacre investigated by Reuters were jailed.
The case against the journalists has become a cause celebre for press
freedom.
Prominent rights attorney Amal Clooney joined the legal team, and Wa Lone
and Kyaw Soe Oo were featured on the cover of TIME magazine.
Rights groups and legal experts say the case against the Reuters reporters
was riddled with irregularities.
A whistleblowing police officer testified during their trial that his
superior had ordered his team to trap the reporters in a sting — testimony
the judge chose to ignore.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0951 hrs