Yangon: The detention of two journalists in Myanmar was
extended for two more weeks, a court said on Wednesday, in the pair's
first public appearance since their December 12 arrest under a draconian
colonial-era secrecy law.
Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27 — Myanmar nationals who had been reporting for Reuters on a military-led crackdown on Rohingya Muslims — were arrested after being invited to meet police for dinner on the outskirts of Yangon.
They face up to 14 years in jail under the Official Secrets Act for
allegedly possessing documents related to the army crackdown in Rakhine
state — a highly sensitive issue in Myanmar.
The UN says the army is likely guilty of ethnic cleansing and may have
committed genocide against the Muslim minority, some 655,000 of whom
have fled the country since the military launched a crackdown on
Rohingya rebels in late August.
Myanmar denies the allegations and has tightly controlled media and UN access to the conflict area. Myanmar officials have refused to comment on where the Reuters journalists were being detained or when they would be released.
On Wednesday, the pair appeared in public for the first time in a court
on the outskirts of Yangon, where they were embraced by tearful
relatives who have been denied any contact with the two men.
"They have not mistreated me," Wa Lone told AFP inside the courthouse. The other reporter, Kyaw Soe Oo, urged other journalists to be cautious in brief comments to AFP.
"Please tell journalist friends to be careful. It's really scary. We didn't do anything wrong," he said. Judge Ohn Myint extended their remand period until January 10, telling the court "the interrogation is still ongoing."
