Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Myanmar Court Sentences Reuters Reporters to 7 Years in Prison
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 7 years ago on
September 4, 2018

Share

YANGON, Myanmar — A Myanmar court sentenced two Reuters journalists to seven years in prison Monday on charges of illegal possession of official documents, a ruling met with international condemnation that will add to outrage over the military’s human rights abuses against Rohingya Muslims.
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo had been reporting on the brutal crackdown on the Rohingya when they were arrested and charged with violating the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. They had pleaded not guilty, contending that they were framed by police.

It is clear to all that the Burmese military has committed vast atrocities. In a free country, it is the duty of a responsible press to keep people informed and hold leaders accountable.” — Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
“Today is a sad day for Myanmar, Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, and the press everywhere,” Stephen J. Adler, Reuters editor-in-chief, said in a statement. He said the charges were “designed to silence their reporting and intimidate the press.”

Reforms Stall Under Noble Peace Prize Winner

The case has drawn worldwide attention as an example of how democratic reforms in long-isolated Myanmar have stalled under the civilian government of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, which took power in 2016.
Though the military, which ruled the country for a half-century, maintains control of several key ministries, Suu Kyi’s rise to government had raised hopes for an accelerated transition to full democracy and her stance on the Rohingya crisis has disappointed many former admirers.
As the verdict was announced in the hot Yangon courtroom, Kyaw Soe Oo’s wife started crying, leaning into the lap of the person next to her. Outside the court, police and journalists shouted as the two Reuters reporters were led to a truck to be taken away.
“This is unfair,” Wa Lone told the crowd. “I want to say they are obviously threatening our democracy and destroying freedom of the press in our country.”
Kevin Krolicki, Reuters regional editor for Asia, said outside the court that it was “heartbreaking for friends and colleagues and family of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who in addition to the outrage many will feel, are deprived of their friends and colleagues, husband and father.”

Journalists Treated Harshly During Interrogations

Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, both testified they suffered from harsh treatment during their initial interrogations after their arrests last December. Their several appeals for release on bail were rejected. Wa Lone’s wife, Pan Ei Mon, gave birth to the couple’s first child in Yangon on Aug. 10, but Wa Lone has not yet seen his daughter.
The two journalists had been reporting last year on the brutal crackdown by security forces on the Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. Some 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh to escape the violence targeting them after attacks by Rohingya militants killed a dozen members of the security forces.
Investigators working for the U.N.’s top human rights body said last week that genocide charges should be brought against senior Myanmar military officers over the crackdown.
The accusation of genocide was rejected by Myanmar’s government, but is the most serious official recommendation for prosecution so far. Also last week, Facebook banned Myanmar’s powerful military chief and 19 other individuals and organizations from its site to prevent the spread of hate and misinformation in connection with the Rohingya crisis.
“Today’s verdict cannot conceal the truth of what happened in Rakhine state,” Tirana Hassan, Amnesty International’s director of crisis response, said in a statement Monday. “It’s thanks to the bravery of journalists like Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, that the military’s atrocities have been exposed. Instead of targeting these two journalists, the Myanmar authorities should have been going after those responsible for killings, rape, torture and the torching of hundreds of Rohingya villages.”
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said in a statement the convictions were “another terrible stain” on the government of Myanmar.
“It is clear to all that the Burmese military has committed vast atrocities,” she said. “In a free country, it is the duty of a responsible press to keep people informed and hold leaders accountable.”

Photo of protesters following sentencing of Reuters journalists in Myanmar
Journalists and activists attempt to block police car carrying two Reuters journalists leaving from court Monday, Sept. 3, 2018, in Yangon, Myanmar.  (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

UN Official: ‘Travesty of Justice’

The new U.N. human rights chief, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, called the trial a “travesty of justice” and said she would urge the Myanmar government to release the journalists immediately.
Dozens of journalists and pro-democracy activists marched Saturday in Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city, in support of the reporters. But in the country at large, with an overwhelming Buddhist majority, there is widespread prejudice against the Rohingya, and in the government and military, there is near-xenophobic sensitivity to foreign criticism.
Myanmar’s courts are one of the country’s most conservative and nationalistic institutions, and the darkened political atmosphere had seemed unlikely to help the reporters’ cause.

Testimony About Planted Evidence

The court earlier this year declined to stop the trial after an initial phase of presentation of evidence, even though a policeman called as a prosecution witness testified that his commander had ordered that documents be planted on the journalists. After his testimony, the officer was jailed for a year for violating police regulations and his family was kicked out of police housing.
Other testimony by prosecution witnesses was contradictory, and the documents presented as evidence against the reporters appeared to be neither secret nor sensitive. The journalists testified they did not solicit or knowingly possess any secret documents.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Give Mom the Gift of a Kitchen-Free Mother’s Day

DON'T MISS

Got An Idea for a Valley Documentary? CMAC’s Big Tell Contest Seeks Applicants

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Faces New Legal Claim Alleging Top Official Trapped Employee in Car

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Arrest Two in Connection to Caleb Quick’s Murder

DON'T MISS

Elizabeth Smart Shares Harrowing Kidnap, Assault Experience with Fresno

DON'T MISS

US Military Ordered to Pull Books on Diversity, Gender Issues

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Seek Public’s Help in Huron Homicide

DON'T MISS

UN Agencies Warn That Israel’s Plans for Aid Distribution Will Endanger Lives in Gaza

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Officer Arrested on Sexual Battery Charges

DON'T MISS

Mayor Baraka of Newark, New Jersey, Arrested at ICE Detention Center He Has Been Protesting

UP NEXT

Leo XIV’s Service to Poor Propelled Him to Papacy, Cardinals Say

UP NEXT

Iran to Send Russia Launchers for Short-Range Missiles, Sources Say

UP NEXT

Residents Stockpile Food, Rush to Bunkers as Conflict Rattles India and Pakistan

UP NEXT

Nitrous Oxide Recreational Use Risks: Brain Damage, Death, and Easy Access

UP NEXT

Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter, a Republican Who Became a Liberal Darling, Dies at 85

UP NEXT

Pope Leo XIV Celebrates First Mass as Pope and Calls His Election Both a Cross and a Blessing

UP NEXT

Israel Won’t Be Involved in New Gaza Aid Plan, Only in Security, US Envoy Says

UP NEXT

Iran Agrees to Fourth Round of Indirect Nuclear Talks With US on Sunday

UP NEXT

Selma Bear Sighting Prompts Police, Wildlife Response

UP NEXT

Pope Leo Once Levied Criticism at Trump and Vance. MAGA Is Not Amused

Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

Clovis Police Arrest Two in Connection to Caleb Quick’s Murder

15 hours ago

Elizabeth Smart Shares Harrowing Kidnap, Assault Experience with Fresno

16 hours ago

US Military Ordered to Pull Books on Diversity, Gender Issues

17 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Seek Public’s Help in Huron Homicide

17 hours ago

UN Agencies Warn That Israel’s Plans for Aid Distribution Will Endanger Lives in Gaza

18 hours ago

Fresno Police Officer Arrested on Sexual Battery Charges

18 hours ago

Mayor Baraka of Newark, New Jersey, Arrested at ICE Detention Center He Has Been Protesting

18 hours ago

FDA Will Allow Three New Color Additives Made From Minerals, Algae and Flower Petals

19 hours ago

Pentagon Directs Military to Pull Library Books That Address Diversity, Anti-Racism, Gender Issues

19 hours ago

Fresno Pays the Most for Electricity. What Are Lawmakers Doing About It?

19 hours ago

Give Mom the Gift of a Kitchen-Free Mother’s Day

Nearly 4 in 10 moms say they’d prefer to go out to eat for Mother’s Day. Too often, even on their special day, moms end up manag...

1 hour ago

https://www.communitymedical.org/thecause?utm_source=Misfit+Digital&utm_medium=GVWire+Banner+Ads&utm_campaign=Branding+2025&utm_content=thecause
1 hour ago

Give Mom the Gift of a Kitchen-Free Mother’s Day

2 hours ago

Got An Idea for a Valley Documentary? CMAC’s Big Tell Contest Seeks Applicants

15 hours ago

Fresno Unified Faces New Legal Claim Alleging Top Official Trapped Employee in Car

15 hours ago

Clovis Police Arrest Two in Connection to Caleb Quick’s Murder

16 hours ago

Elizabeth Smart Shares Harrowing Kidnap, Assault Experience with Fresno

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 10, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo
17 hours ago

US Military Ordered to Pull Books on Diversity, Gender Issues

Fresno County authorities are seeking the public’s help to find the suspect who killed Jesus Adrian Amador Jr., 22, of Huron, in a 2017 shooting. (Fresno County SO)
17 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Seek Public’s Help in Huron Homicide

18 hours ago

UN Agencies Warn That Israel’s Plans for Aid Distribution Will Endanger Lives in Gaza

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend