The International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists for media freedom, today described the to try two Reuters journalists for breaching the country鈥檚 Official Secrets Act as a gross of violation of freedom of expression and press freedom.
The two reporters, Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were arrested in December 2017 after a sting operation by law enforcement agencies. The journalists are accused of possessing classified information that was given to them by police officers.
IPI Head of Advocacy Ravi R. Prasad condemned the charges.
鈥淢yanmar鈥檚 democratically elected government, led by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has chosen repression instead of the freedom that it promised鈥�, Prasad said. 鈥淎ung San Suu Kyi has forgotten that it was the independent media that supported her during her years of house arrest and struggle against military junta. Now her government is acting like the military junta, silencing critical voices.鈥�
The two arrested journalists were investigating the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslims, including young boys, in the western Rakhine state.
鈥淏y accusing these journalists of violating the Official Secrets Act, the government is signalling that it will not tolerate scrutiny of atrocities committed by the armed forces in Rakhine鈥�, Prasad said. 鈥淥ppressive regimes like the one in Myanmar can arrest journalists, but they will never be able to silence independent media. There are other journalists who will follow the unfinished stories.鈥欌��
IPI called on the Myanmar government to drop charges against the two Reuters journalists and release them.