The detention of two journalists who were reporting on Myanmar’s anti-insurgency campaign in northern Rakhine State is the army’s way of warning journalists who contradict the official line, defense lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said today after a hearing at Yangon’s Insein Township courthouse.
Reuters journalists Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, were arrested on Dec. 12 after allegedly receiving secret documents from two police officers that are thought to have contained information about a Rohingya mass grave. They are facing charges under Section 3(1)(c) of the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, and if convicted, they may receive up to 14 years in prison.
The two reporters were brought to the courthouse from Insein Prison this morning for a five-hour pre-trial hearing that included questioning of the plaintiff – a police officer who was not present at the time of the alleged crime or the arrest – and a request from the defense for bail. The request was blocked by the prosecution, and the judge will decide whether to grant bail at the next hearing on Feb. 1.
As police led Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo in handcuffs from the courtroom to a truck that would take them back to their cells, Kyaw Soe Oo shouted to reporters “Fight for press freedom!” Wa Lone hurriedly shared his thoughts on the hearing with reporters as the truck sped out of the courthouse compound.
Speaking to Coconuts Yangon after the hearing, defense lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said his clients are very unlikely to be granted bail, partly because bail can rarely be granted to those charged under the Official Secrets Act, but also because the entire case is meant to intimidate journalists who report on the military.
“The army, the General Administration Department, and the Ministry of Home Affairs are all teaming up to send a message and control the media,” the lawyer said.
Asked how he is certain the case is meant to send a message, Khin Maung Zaw said he has seen the same tactics used against journalists before.
“The police tried to bring a charge under the Official Secrets Act against [my former client] Aung Naing Soe, but the court rejected it,” he said. Aung Naing Soe, a journalist who has also reported on Myanmar’s persecution of the Rohingya, was arrested in October along with two foreign journalists and their Myanmar driver for operating a drone near the parliament compound in Naypyidaw. They were all convicted of violating the Aviation Law and served two months in prison.
The court has yet to decide whether it will accept the charges against Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, and that decision may take months. The court first must hear questioning of 25 witnesses, and hearings are held only every two weeks.
Asked whether he believes the court will ultimately accept the charges against his clients, Khin Maung Zaw said: “It’s much too early in the case to tell.”
Reuters has denied any wrongdoing on behalf of the two journalists, and several countries have called for their immediate release.
