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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.<\/p>\nA court in Myanmar has sentenced two Reuters journalists to seven years in prison for violating a state secrets act while investigating violence against Rohingyas.<\/p>\n
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested while carrying official documents which had just been given to them by police officers.<\/p>\n
They have maintained their innocence, saying they were set up by police.<\/p>\n
The case has been widely seen as a test of press freedom in Myanmar.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have no fear,\u201d Wa Lone, one of the two journalists, said after the verdict. \u201cI have not done anything wrong. I believe in justice, democracy and freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two men, who both have families with young children, have been in prison since their arrest in December 2017.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday is a sad day for Myanmar, Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, and press freedom anywhere,\u201d said Reuters editor-in-chief Stephen Adler.<\/p>\n
Judge Ye Lwin told the court in Yangon that evidence that the pair had \u201cintended to harm the interests of the state\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so they have been found guilty under the state secrets act,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, had been collecting evidence about the execution of 10 men by the army in the village of Inn Din in northern Rakhine.<\/p>\n
During their investigation, they were offered documents by two police officers, but were arrested immediately afterwards for the possession of those documents.<\/p>\n
Authorities later launched their own probe into the killings, confirming the massacre took place and promising to take action against those who had taken part.<\/p>\n