Myanmar sentences Reuters journalists to seven years in jail

Bloomberg

A Myanmar judge sentenced Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo to seven years in prison on Monday after they were found guilty of breaching the country’s Official Secrets Act.
The two reporters were arrested on December 12 after police accused them of violating the 1923 law by acquiring “important secret papers” from two policemen. They both pleaded not guilty, with Reuters citing “compelling evidence of a police set-up.”
“Today is a sad day for Myanmar, Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe
Oo, and the press everywhere,” Reuters editor-in-chief Stephen J. Adler said in a statement. “This is a major step backward in Myanmar’s transition to democracy, cannot be squared with the rule of law or freedom of speech, and must be corrected by the Myanmar government as a matter of urgency.”
In August, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on members of Myanmar’s military over their alleged involvement in ethnic cleansing of the
country’s Rohingya Muslim population. Myanmar has rejected a United Nations report last month that said Myanmar’s top generals should be investigated and prosecuted for committing genocide and war crimes against the Rohingya.
International criticism over the case has damaged Myanmar’s reputation, making it harder for companies that sought opportunities in the country after the US lifted broad-based sanctions following its transition to democracy.