The Burmese High Court yesterday rejected the appeal of two Reuters reporters sentenced to seven years in jail on charges of breaching the Burmese Official Secrets Act, saying that the defense had not provided sufficient evidence to show they were innocent.
Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were in September last year convicted by a lower court in a landmark case that has raised questions about Myanmar’s progress toward democracy and sparked an outcry from diplomats and human rights advocates.
“It was a suitable punishment,” High Court Judge Aung Naing said.
Photo: Reuters
The defense has the option of making a further appeal to the nation’s Supreme Court.
“Today’s ruling is yet another injustice among many inflicted upon Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo. They remain behind bars for one reason: Those in power sought to silence the truth,” Reuters editor-in-chief Stephen Adler said in a statement.
“Reporting is not a crime and until Myanmar rights this terrible wrong, the press in Myanmar is not free and Myanmar’s commitment to rule of law and democracy remains in doubt,” he added.
In their appeal arguments made last month, defense lawyers cited evidence of a police setup and lack of proof of a crime.
They told the appeals court that the lower court had wrongly placed the burden of proof on the defendants.
The defense also said that prosecutors had failed to prove the reporters gathered and collected secret information, sent information to an enemy of Myanmar or intended to harm national security.
Khine Khine Soe, a legal officer representing the government, told the appeal hearing that the evidence showed that the reporters had collected and kept confidential documents with an intent to harm national security and interests.
The judge yesterday said “it was not acceptable” to say that the defendants had acted according to journalistic ethics.
“It cannot be said that it was a setup,” he said.
Standing outside the court building in Yangon where the judgement was pronounced, EU Ambassador to Myanmar Kristian Schmidt said that the ruling was a “miscarriage of justice and it gives us great concern for the independence of the justice system of Myanmar.”
Defense lawyer Than Zaw Aung, speaking after the ruling, said that his team would discuss the option of a Supreme Court appeal with the reporters.
Before their arrest, the reporters had been working on an investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys by security forces and Buddhist civilians in Rakhine State during an army crackdown that began in August 2017.
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
BREAKTHROUGH: The US is making chips on par in yield and quality with Taiwan, despite people saying that it could not happen, the official said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer (nm) chips for US customers in Arizona, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, a milestone in the semiconductor efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden. In November last year, the commerce department finalized a US$6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said, adding that production had begun in recent
Seven hundred and sixty-four foreigners were arrested last year for acting as money mules for criminals, with many entering Taiwan on a tourist visa for all-expenses-paid trips, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. Although from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26 last year, 26,478 people were arrested for working as money mules, the bureau said it was particularly concerned about those entering the country as tourists or migrant workers who help criminals and scammers pick up or transfer illegally obtained money. In a report, officials divided the money mules into two groups, the first of which are foreigners, mainly from Malaysia
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
RSS