• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Friday, May 20, 2022
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Featured

Testimony: Reuters Reporters Set Up by Myanmar Police

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
04/20/18
in Featured, Media Freedom
Reuters journalists Myanmar Wa Lone

Two Reuters journalists have been detained without bail for their reporting in the northern Rakhine state of Myanmar. Photo: AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A Myanmar police chief ordered officers to set up a Reuters reporter by handing over sensitive documents to him in a sting operation that also ensnared his colleague, a police official told a court Friday.

Reporters Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were detained in December after meeting police for dinner in Yangon and accused of violating the country’s Official Secrets Act for possessing material relating to operations in conflict-hit Rakhine state.

They were arrested while investigating a September 2 massacre of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine, but their report was published while they were behind bars.

Prosecution witness: #Myanmar police planned 'trap' for @Reuters reporter #WaLone #KyawSoeOo https://t.co/FJAM79pcmV

— CPJ (@pressfreedom) April 20, 2018

Myanmar has been accused of waging an ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya after some 700,000 fled to Bangladesh following a brutal military crackdown on insurgents in August. The military has denied allegations that the armed forces committed widespread atrocities.

But it has admitted soldiers took part in a massacre of Rohingyas last September in Inn Din village, a murder spree that the Reuters reporters helped uncover. Seven soldiers were recently sentenced to 10-year prison terms for the killings. Nonetheless the prosecution of the reporters has continued.

For months now a Yangon court has been hearing testimony to decide whether the Reuters journalists will go to trial even as global criticism of the case has rained down on Myanmar and prominent rights attorney Amal Clooney joined the legal team.

‘Tell the Whole Truth’

Deputy police major Moe Yan Naing said in his appearance Friday that he had been questioned about meeting Wa Lone in November and that his superior then set up a sting in which he told others to pass on sensitive security documents.

“Police Brigadier Tin Ko Ko asked Htauk Kyant (township) police members to arrest Wa Lone after Lance Corporal Naing Lin handed the documents to Wa Lone when they left,” he said, describing orders to “get” the reporter. Kyaw Soe Oo accompanied Wa Lone to the restaurant meeting and was also arrested.

Yangon police officials could not be reached for comment. Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay said in response to questions about the testimony that the case is ongoing and a judge will decide.

Moe Yan Naing said he was angry that his name had been mentioned in the aftermath of the sting as someone who was under scrutiny. He is facing charges of breaching police regulations and was brought to the hearing from detention.

The prosecution argued that he should be declared a hostile witness as his testimony differed from what he had told police investigators, but the Reuters defence team praised his remarks as genuine.

“He answered all this by taking risk for himself,” lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said.

A judge will hear arguments about the motion next week. In brief comments to AFP as he arrived at the court in the morning, Moe Yan Naing said he was “going to tell the whole truth” in his appearance.

Reuters president and editor-in-chief Stephen J. Adler said in a statement that the court had finally heard the truth and called for the journalists’ immediate release.

“One of the prosecution’s own witnesses admitted that the police received orders to plant evidence and arrest Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo on false charges,” he said. “This case cannot be squared with fairness or justice, and it’s time to bring it to an end.”

Myanmar lifted many restrictions on the press as it emerged from five decades of military rule in 2011. But critics have accused Aung San Suu Kyi’s new government of backsliding on previous reforms and failing to protect free expression.

Share2Tweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

Myanmar meeting
Democracy at Risk

HRW Slams Australia for ‘Unacceptable’ Myanmar Junta Meeting

by Staff Writer
April 8, 2022
Rohingya Muslims
National

US Says Myanmar Committed Genocide Against Rohingya

by Staff Writer
March 21, 2022
Myanmar's junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing
World

EU backs International Arms Embargo After Myanmar Massacre

by Staff Writer
December 30, 2021
Aug San Suu Kyi
Democracy at Risk

EU Condemns ‘Politically Motivated’ Suu Kyi Detention by Myanmar Junta

by Staff Writer
December 6, 2021
Danny Fenster
Media Freedom

US Journalist Detained in Myanmar Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison

by Staff Writer
November 12, 2021
Myanmar protesters
World

Myanmar Troops Kill Four in Gun Battle With Anti-Junta Militia

by Staff Writer
June 22, 2021
Next Post
Protesters in Armenia

Armenia's Youth Say 'Enough' as Sargsyan Extends His Rule

Mexica's flag

How is Mexico Fighting Fake News Ahead of General Elections?

Recommended

Volkswagen logo

German Farmer Sues Volkswagen Over CO2 Emissions

May 20, 2022
Vladimir Putin

Russia Says Economy Grew 3.5 Percent in First Quarter

May 18, 2022
Mexico missing people

Over 100,000 People Reported Missing in Mexico, Data Reveals

May 17, 2022
Shireen Abu Akleh

Jerusalem Archbishop Condemns Israeli Police Raid at Journalist’s Funeral

May 16, 2022
A Lebanese election official stands at a polling station

New Group Threatens Lebanese Elections… and Potentially Middle East Peace

May 18, 2022
Israel

15 European Nations Urge Israel to Reverse Plans for More Settler Homes

May 13, 2022

Opinion

A Lebanese election official stands at a polling station

New Group Threatens Lebanese Elections… and Potentially Middle East Peace

May 18, 2022
A man holding a gun

Safely Back in USA, Land of Guns and Burgers

May 2, 2022
China Muslim Uyghurs

Unfair Politicization, Corruption, and the Death of Modern Olympism

April 23, 2022
Ukraine war

The Ukrainian Refugee Crisis and the Hierarchies of Western Compassion

April 20, 2022
Chinese leader Xi Jinping

How Wrong ‘How China Can End the War in Ukraine’ Is

April 1, 2022
Ukraine children

The War for Ukraine’s Lives and Minds

March 30, 2022
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post