An apex court in Myanmar had on Monday, heard argument over the case of two detained Reuters’ reporters, who were sentenced to jail for seven years, alleged for breaking the Myanmar’s Official Secrets Act.
According to news reported by the Reuters, in September, both the reporters – 32-year-old Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were found guilty and sentenced for seven years after a trial in Myanmar’s Yangon district court that has then raised questions over the progress result of Myanmar towards democracy and also sparked an outcry from human rights advocates and diplomats.
In November, reporter’s lawyers has provided the court an evidence of a set-up done by police and also lack of proofs in a crime, filing a plea against the conviction.
Lawyers and the prosecution, in court on Monday, presented arguments for over an hour before judge adjourned the hearing. However, apex court did not disclosed any final date of a decision.
Lawyers L. Khun Ring Pan urged the judge Aung Naing to overturn the decision by the lower court and to release the reporters.
According to news reports, lawyer had presented the evidence saying that the lower court had incorrectly place the burden of proofs on detained reporters and thus the prosecutors failed in order to prove reporter’s action of collecting secret information and sending it to Myanmar’s enemy or even that the reporters had any intention to harm Myanmar’s national security.
Lawyer said, “According to the evidence, case files and references I have submitted, they are innocent.”
Reports said Reuters reporters were arrested as they were working on an investigation into the murder of ten Rohingya Muslims by Myanmar’s security forces in western Rakhine state of Myanmar, during army crackdown in August last year.
Lawyer said the prosecution had ignored fully the flaws in the case with inconsistencies related to the arrest of reporters. Police had said both reporters were arrested when they walked down on a police traffic stop holding some confidential documents.
But however, during eight-month custody of both reporters, it was disclosed that two policemen had handed them rolled papers in newspapers at Yangon restaurant in a meeting on December 12, 2017.
The defense lawyer said, “The arrest at the traffic stop is a lie. The truth is they were arrested in a set up. There cannot be legal action based on a set up.”
A legal officer representing the Myanmar’s government Khine Khine Soe said, “It was found that they had the intention to harm national security and the national interest.”
In an official statement, Reuters editor-in-chief Stephen J. Adler said: “We will explain to the appellate judge why, under the law, the only possible conclusion is that the appellate court must restore our reporters’ freedom and reaffirm Myanmar’s democratic principles.”