UPDATE 11/12/18: Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have been sentenced to seven years in prison, simply because they dared to ask questions about military atrocities in Rakhine State. Please continue to call for their convictions to be quashed, and for both men to be released!
The cries of the Rohingya people reached living rooms around the globe because of brave individuals like Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo who risk it all to expose the truth.
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are Reuters journalists and they’re facing 14 years in prison for simply doing their job.
In December 2017, the men were arrested and detained without any access to lawyers, family or the outside world. For two weeks, no one knew of their whereabouts. They were then charged with possessing government documents with the intention of sending them to a foreign news agency.
The law under which they were charged is broad and vague. It’s often used by authorities to silence dissent.
Journalists like Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo face intimidation, harassment and even imprisonment for reporting on sensitive issues.
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were brave enough to speak the truth. It’s now our turn to take action to defend them.
They were merely doing their job. Journalism is not a crime.
Their hearing is coming up on 23 January – we need to make our voices heard now.
Join our call on the authorities to release Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo immediately and to drop the charges unconditionally.