Reuters reporter Wa Lone said while leaving the courtroom that they would fully defend against evidence allowed by the Judge that were allegedly extracted from their mobile phones.
The two Reuters reporters were produced before the court on May 22. Prosecution witness Pol. Maj. Aung Kyaw San submitted 21 pages of documents which were allegedly extracted from the mobile phones of the two Reuters reporters as exhibits in this case.
Wa Lone said, “We did our job of covering the news but the evidence submitted to court is [just] information about government projects such as Manaung Island project and issuing NVCs (National Verification Certificates), these were labelled as classified information. I’d like to say it seems the government is telling all journalists not to touch any information issued by government otherwise you will be prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act.”
Myanmar based Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested on December 12, 2017 in the evening while they were walking along No.3 Highway in Mingaladon Township after police searched them and allegedly found classified documents concerning Rakhine State in their possession.
