Two Reuters journalists arrested in Myanmar

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Myanmar’s government on Wednesday said that police had arrested two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo. The reporters had been working on stories about a military crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim minority in Rahkine State that has caused almost 650,000 people to flee to neighboring Bangladesh.

The Ministry of Information said in a statement on its Facebook page that the journalists and two policemen face charges under the British colonial-era Official Secrets Act. The 1923 law carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.

Reuters journalist Wa Lone, who is based in Myanmar, poses for a picture while attending a hostile environment course in Kanchanaburi Province, near Bangkok, Thailand, Feburary 14, 2017. /Reuters Photo

The reporters “illegally acquired information with the intention to share it with foreign media,” said the statement, which was accompanied by a photo of the pair in handcuffs.

It said they were detained at a police station on the outskirts of Yangon, the southeast Asian nation’s main city.

“Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have been reporting on events of global importance in Myanmar, and we learned today that they have been arrested in connection with their work,” said Stephen J. Adler, president and editor-in-chief of Reuters.

“We are outraged by this blatant attack on press freedom. We call for authorities to release them immediately,” he said.

A spokesman for Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi confirmed that the two journalists had been arrested.

Reuters journalists Wa Lone (L) and Kyaw Soe Oo, who are based in Myanmar, pose for a picture at the Reuters office in Yangon, Myanmar December 11, 2017. /Reuters Photo

“Not only your reporters, but also the policemen who were involved in that case,” spokesman Zaw Htay said. “We will take action against those policemen and also the reporters.”

Rohingya Muslim refugees shout slogans during a protest against what organizers say is the crackdown on ethnic Rohingya’s in Myanmar. /Reuters Photo

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Source(s): Reuters ,Xinhua News Agency