Myanmar judge rejects request for dismissal of case against two jailed Reuters reporters

Record ID: 1112022

  • Title: Myanmar judge rejects request for dismissal of case against two jailed Reuters reporters
  • Date: 11th April 2018
  • Summary: YANGON, MYANMAR (APRIL 11, 2018) (REUTERS) REUTERS JOURNALISTS WA LONE AND KYAW SOE OO ARRIVING AT COURT POLICE AND PEOPLE NEAR COURT ROOM WA LONE'S WIFE, PAN EI MON, AND PEOPLE REGISTERING TO ENTER COURT ROOM VARIOUS OF PEOPLE REGISTERING TO ENTER COURT ROOM POLICE OFFICER POLICE OFFICER TALKING ON PHONE POLICE OFFICER STANDING GUARD FEET OF POLICE GUARDS SIGN ON ARMS POL
  • Embargoed: 25th April 2018 07:47
  • Keywords: Myanmar Official Secrets Act Wa Lone Kyaw Soe Oo Myanmar press freedom
  • Location: YANGON, MYANMAR
  • City: YANGON, MYANMAR
  • Country: Myanmar
  • Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions
  • Reuters ID: LVA0018AZJBK5
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:A judge on Wednesday (April 11) rejected a request for dismissal of a case against two Reuters reporters jailed in Myanmar after being accused of possessing secret government papers.
    A court in Yangon has been holding preliminary hearings since January to decide whether Wa Lone, who turned 32 on Wednesday, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, will be charged under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison. Judge Ye Lwin said there was "a proper reason" for the accusations against the two reporters and therefore "they should not be released."
    The journalists had been working on a Reuters investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men in the village of Inn Din, in western Myanmar's Rakhine state, during an army crackdown that has sent nearly 700,000 people fleeing to Bangladesh. Seven Myanmar soldiers have been sentenced to "10 years in prison with hard labour in a remote area" for participating in the massacre, the army said on Tuesday (April 10).
    Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have been in custody since their arrests on Dec. 12. Wednesday's hearing drew one of the largest crowds of diplomats and journalists since the start of the proceedings. The next hearing will take place on April 20.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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