Court rejects appeal for Reuters journalists

The Myanmar High Court has rejected the appeal of the two Reuters journalists sentenced to seven years in jail. They were charged under the country’s Official Secrets Act. Critics say is a further blow to press freedom. High Court Judge U Aung Naing said that the defense did not provide sufficient evidence to show that they were innocent. He also said that their sentence “was a suitable punishment”. The defense now has the option of making a further appeal to the Supreme Court. In a statement, Reuters Editor-in-Chief Stephen J. Adler called the ruling “yet another injustice among many inflicted upon Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo”. “Reporting is not a crime, and until Myanmar rights this terrible wrong, the press in Myanmar is not free, and Myanmar’s commitment to rule of law and democracy remains in doubt,” he said. The pair were arrested while investigating the military’s crackdown in Rakhine State in late-2017. They were found guilty despite testimony being given in court that they were deliberately entrapped by the police.

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