The Myanmar police have yet to release the two Reuters reports that were arrested last year in December for acquiring “important secret papers” from the police who sparked the refugee crisis of the Rohingya people in the Rakhine state. Their lawyer, Than Zaw Aung has tried to appeal for bail but was dismissed by a judge announcing their next hearing to occur on the 23rd of January.
The pair is being charged for violating Myanmar’s
Official Secrets Act and may be sentenced for up to 14 years. The arrest of the
journalists despite widespread criticism from human rights and media groups has
exposed the deterioration of press freedom in Myanmar. Media outlets and
journalists are wary of reporting on “sensitive topics” in fear of harassment
or arrest.
Myanmar’s continual use of colonial-era suppression
of the media has caused criticism over the nation’s new civilian government led
by Aung San Suu Kyi, a recent Nobel Laureate Prize winner. The UN Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres and Amnesty International have called for the immediate
release of journalists. Bill Clinton tweeted that “a free press is critical to
a free society and the detention of journalists anywhere is unacceptable”.
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