FCC appeal to Myanmar authorities to release two Reuters journalists

An appeal to Myanmar authorities to release two Reuters journalists

NEW DELHI, January 17: The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia (FCC), New Delhi, today appealed to Myanmar’s President Htin Kyaw and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi to immediately release the two Reuters journalists—Wa Lone and Kyaw SoeOo—who were detained on December 12 after they were invited to meet police officers for dinner in the north of Yangon.

In a statement issued here today, FCC President S Venkat Narayan said:

“The journalists had been reporting on and further investigating recent military crackdowns in the Rakhine state against Rohingya Muslims which has led to mass migration of more than 600,000 fleeing to Bangladesh since August 2017.

“After they were held incommunicado for about a week, President Htin Kyaw authorized the police to proceed to investigate them under the Official Secrets Act. If charged and found guilty, they may be sentenced to up to 14 years in prison.

“Just like the global journalist community, we at the FCC in New Delhi too are greatly concerned about their wellbeing. They were held for days at an undisclosed location and were denied access to lawyers. Despite assurances by prison officials about their well-being, they are now being held at Insein prison in cells with doors that don’t lock in a block that houses inmates convicted of murder, drug dealing and other major crimes. Clearly, this puts the two journalists’ lives at great risk.

“The Official Secrets Act in Myanmar has a very broad definition of an official secret, which can cover any information that appears to be prejudicial against state interests. Essentially, this standard subjects any persons possessing an unpublished government document or photo of military activity to arrest. This puts all investigative journalists at serious risk of prosecution and is in violation of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“We appeal to President Htin Kyaw and Aung San Suu Kyi to release the journalists forthwith.”

S Venkat Narayan
President, FCC