- Title: Timeline: Reuters journalists detained in Myanmar ahead of court's verdict
- Date: 26th August 2018
- Summary: YANGON, MYANMAR (FILE - DECEMBER 27, 2017) (REUTERS) VAN ARRIVING, 27-YEAR OLD REUTERS JOURNALIST KYAW SOE OO (PRONOUNCED: JAW SO OO) SEEN THROUGH CAR WINDOW 31-YEAR-OLD REUTERS JOURNALIST WA LONE (PRONOUNCED: WAH LOAN) WALKING OUT OF VAN / WA LONE'S WIFE, PAN EI MON, HUGGING WA LONE JOURNALISTS WAITING OUTSIDE COURT (SOUNDBITE) (Burmese) REUTERS JOURNALIST KYAW SOE OO WAL
- Embargoed: 9th September 2018 03:55
- Keywords: Myanmar Wa Lone Kyaw Soe Oo Official Secrets Act court timeline of events verdict
- Location: YANGON, RAKHINE STATE, PATHIEN / MYANMAR / BANGKOK, THAILAND / NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City: YANGON, RAKHINE STATE, PATHIEN / MYANMAR / BANGKOK, THAILAND / NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- Country: Myanmar
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions
- Reuters ID: LVA0018UUDN45
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS GRAPHIC MATERIAL
Two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, have been detained in Myanmar since Dec. 12, 2017. At the time of their arrests, they had been working on an investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys in a village in Rakhine state.
After eight months of pre-trial hearings, a Yangon court will deliver on Monday (September 3) a verdict on the reporters, who were charged with breaching the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.
The judge initially set the date for August 27 after hearing closing arguments from both sides, during which lawyers for the two journalists said they had been "trapped" by police in an effort to interfere with their reporting of the massacre of Rohingya Muslims. But the verdict was postponed for a week as the judge overseeing the case was sick, a court official said.
The case is seen as a test of press freedom in the fledgling democracy.
The following are key events in the case:
Dec. 12-13, 2017
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested in Yangon after being invited to meet police over dinner.
The government said they face charges under the Official Secrets Act.
Dec. 18, 2017
Myanmar's military said it has discovered a mass grave in the village of Inn Din, in western Rakhine state.
Dec. 27, 2017
The reporters appeared in court and were remanded in custody. Their families said the pair told them they were arrested almost immediately after being handed documents by the policemen whom they met for the first time on the night of their arrest.
Jan. 10, 2018
Pre-trial hearings begin, with prosecutors seeking charges against the journalists under the Official Secrets Act.
On the same day, the military said its soldiers murdered 10 captured Muslims, whose bodies were those discovered by security forces in the mass grave in Rakhine, during insurgent attacks.
Feb. 1, 2018
A police witness, Major Min Thant, said under cross-examination that information in the documents the reporters were holding in their hands at the time of their arrest had already been published in newspaper reports.
The court denied a request for bail.
Feb. 8, 2018
Reuters published the investigation that the reporters had been working on. It describes how security forces and local Rakhine Buddhists were involved in the killing of the 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys buried in the mass grave at Inn Din.
Feb. 11, 2018
Myanmar said action will be taken against members of its security forces in connection with the killings at Inn Din, but added it is not related to the Reuters report.
Feb. 13, 2018
The United States urged the U.N. to hold Myanmar's military accountable for "ethnic cleansing" and reiterated demands for the reporters' release.
Mar. 28, 2018
Lawyers for Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo asked the court to throw out the case, saying there is insufficient evidence to support charges against the pair.
Mar. 29, 2018
Prominent human rights lawyer Amal Clooney joined the legal team representing the two Reuters reporters. "Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are being prosecuted simply because they reported the news," Clooney said in a statement.
Apr. 20, 2018
Prosecution witness Police Captain Moe Yan Naing told the court that a police brigadier general had given orders to entrap Wa Lone by giving him "secret documents" and then arresting him. Prosecutors later argued that Moe Yan Naing should be declared an unreliable witness, but the judge rejected the request.
Apr. 29, 2018
Moe Yan Naing was sentenced to a year in prison for violating Myanmar's Police Disciplinary Act by talking to Wa Lone.
May 16, 2018
Police Lance Corporal Naing Lin, the officer whom Moe Yan Naing said was ordered to entrap Wa Lone, told the court he met the reporters, but denied giving them documents.
May 22, 2018
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, while detained in Myanmar were honoured on May 22 with the PEN America 2018 Barbey Freedom to Write Award.
The PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award recognises imprisoned writers targeted for exercising freedom of speech. Since 1987, 38 out of 42 jailed writers who received the award have been released due in part to the global awareness the award brings.
Jun. 11, 2018
A senior police officer denied during cross-examination by defense lawyers that the reporters were subjected to sleep deprivation and asked if they were "spies" during interrogations. Afterwards, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo confirmed details of their treatment, saying they were questioned every two hours by different officers for about three days.
Jul. 2, 2018
Prosecutors and defense lawyers delivered final arguments in the pre-trial phase of the case.
Jul. 9, 2018
The Yangon court charged Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo with breaching the Official Secrets Act. Both reporters pleaded not guilty.
The proceedings enter the trial phase, with the next hearing to be held on July 16.
The court's decision drew international criticism, with many countries, the United Nations, and press freedom groups calling for the reporters' release.
Aug. 10, 2018
Wa Lone's wife, Pan Ei Mon, gave birth in a Yangon hospital to a girl, named Thet Htar Angel. She is the couple's first child.
Aug. 20, 2018
The judge in the trial of two Reuters reporters jailed in Myanmar on accusations of obtaining secret state documents said he will deliver his verdict on Aug. 27, in a case seen as a test of press freedom in the fledgling democracy.
Aug. 27, 2018
The verdict of the trial was postponed by a week to September 3, as the judge overseeing the case was sick, a court official said. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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