Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo, the two Reuters journalists arrested in December, have been found guilty under the Official Secrets Act and sentenced to seven years in prison, in what critics say is a blow towards press freedom in the country. “The defendants … have breached Official Secrets Act section 3.1.c, and are sentenced to seven years,” the judge said according to a Reuters article. The pair, who were investigating the killing of 10 Muslim men by security forces in Rakhine State at the time of their arrest, are accused of handling official government documents. They say they were handed the documents during a meeting with police before they were arrested, while the prosecution maintains it stopped the pair during a routine patrol. A police officer, called as a witness for the prosecution, testified during the trial that officers had been ordered to entrap the journalists. “We will not wait while Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo suffer this injustice and will evaluate how to proceed in the coming days, including whether to seek relief in an international forum,” Reuters editor in chief Stephen J Adler said in a statement.
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