Two Reuters journalists
jailed in Myanmar after they were convicted of breaking the Official Secrets
Act walked free from prison on Tuesday after more than 500 days behind bars.
Wa Lone, 33, and Kyaw
Soe Oo, 29, had been convicted in September and sentenced to seven years in
jail in a case that raised questions about Myanmar’s progress towards democracy
and sparked an outcry from diplomats and human rights advocates.
They were released
under a presidential amnesty for 6,520 prisoners. President Win Myint has
pardoned thousands of other prisoners in mass amnesties since last month
It is customary in
Myanmar for authorities to free prisoners across the country around the time of
the traditional New Year, which began on April 17.
Reuters has said the
two men did not commit any crime and had called for their release.
Swamped by media and
well-wishers as they walked through the gates of Insein Prison, on the
outskirts of Yangon, a grinning Wa Lone gave a thumbs up and said he was
grateful for the international efforts to secure their freedom.
“I’m really happy and
excited to see my family and my colleagues. I can’t wait to go to my newsroom,”
he said.
Kyaw Soe Oo smiled and waved
to reporters.
The two were then
driven away by Reuters colleagues and reunited with their wives and children.
Before their arrest in
December 2017, they had been working on an investigation into the killing of 10
Rohingya Muslim men and boys by security forces and Buddhist civilians in
western Myanmar’s Rakhine State during an army crackdown that began in August
2017.
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