Today the two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, once again appear before the court in a case that has been internationally criticized as an attack on the freedom of press.
And on the Facebook page for the Danish Embassy in Myanmar, the day began with this picture:
For Ambassador Peter Lysholt Hansen, the freedom of press is crucial to the development of Myanmar:
“This is not meant as a confrontation but as a token of help. We believe that the freedom of press is extremely important for a country like Myanmar, and this particular situation is just a case and point,” he says and refers to the two journalist allegedly being framed by the police force, something a captain admitted during the most recent appearance before court:
“It’s clear that these journalists did nothing but their work and we do not believe that it is fair that journalists who did their jobs are jailed on the fourth month for doing so,” Peter Lysholt Hansen says.
The journalists were jailed after publishing the Massacre in Myanmar story on Reuters. The official charges are “possession of government documents” – a Colonia-Era Law that can give up to 14 years in prison.
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo testified that they were arrested shortly after being handed the documents by men from the police. This was confirmed by Police Captain Moe Yan Naing, who also testified that the two journalists were set up by the police.
