Myanmar authorities should release two Reuters journalists detained for investigating a military massacre of Rohingya Muslims and drop the case against them. On July 2, 2018, a Yangon court will hear final arguments on whether to charge Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, under the 1923 Official Secrets Act, which carries a prison sentence of up to 14 years. The journalists were detained on December 12, 2017, after being invited by police officials to meet at a restaurant in Yangon, where they were handed rolled up papers allegedly linked to security force operations in northern Rakhine State. The Myanmar Police Force announced that the journalists were arrested for “illegally obtaining and possessing government documents,” with the intent “to send them to a foreign news agency.” For more than six months, the two men have been held without bail while evidence has emerged showing police misconduct and conflicting official accounts.
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