Journalists Appear in Court after 15 Days of Interrogation Skip to main content

Journalists Appear in Court after 15 Days of Interrogation

By NYEIN NYEIN 27 December 2017
YANGON — “We have not made a mistake, neither violations of the media law nor ethics. As we have to face this situation, we will face it as best we can,” said Ko Wa Lone, a detained Reuters journalist who appeared at the Mingalardon Township court on Wednesday for the first time since his arrest on Dec. 12. Ko Wa Lone and his colleague Ko Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested for allegedly violating the colonial-era Official Secrets Act and questioned at the Aung Tha Pyay police interrogation center in Mayangone Township for 15 days. Ko Wa Lone told reporters that he was “fine” and faced no mistreatment during the detention. Two police officers who were also detained along with the reporters did not appear at the court on Wednesday. The pair saw their family members for the first time since their arrest. Ma Pan Ei Mon, the wife of Ko Wa Lone (aka) Thet Oo Maung, and Ma Nyo Nyo Aye, the sister of Ko Kyaw Soe Oo, were able to talk to their loved ones and followed the pair in a van when they left the court. Ma Nyo Nyo Aye told The Irrawaddy before meeting her brother that her family had been worried but that they didn’t know what to do. “I want to see my brother,” she said in a soft voice. The pair was taken to Insein prison after about 10 minutes at court, where police extended the remand. They will appear next on Jan. 10. U Than Zaw Aung, the lawyer for the pair, said: “We can only give details after looking at the case file.” The pair was charged under Section 3 of the Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. The lawyer said, “The journalists should not be charged under this act. They were doing their job in accordance with journalistic ethics. Not only do the journalists suffer from such a charge, the public also loses its right to information.” The two Reuters journalists had worked on coverage of a crisis in Rakhine, western Myanmar, where an estimated 655,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled from a fierce military crackdown on militants, following the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army’s Aug. 25 attack on security outposts. In solidarity with the detained journalists, the reporters covering their case wore black t-shirts to express their support of them and of press freedom in Myanmar. https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/journalists-appear-court-15-days-interrogation.html


Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera

The Life Story of A Distinguished And Outstanding Bhikkhu The Most Venerable Saradawpharagree Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera The Buddhist missionary Saradaw Ashin U Chandramani was endowed with great gifts and led a famous and long life. He was a very well known, distinguished and outstanding Bhikkhu Mahathera. While living in the Kushinagar Monastery, a place close to where the Lord Buddha had passed away to Nirvana, the Government of India had offered, and he had accepted, the highest, most honourable and respected title "Guru Guru MahaGuru". He became the first ever President of all Buddhists in India.A World Buddhist Conference took place in Kathmandu during the reign of King Mahindra of Nepal. The Conference was very well attended by over one hundred thousand Buddhists from various parts of the world and it was opened by King Mahindra himself. As requested by the King, Saradawpharagree blessed all the participants with the power of Triple Gems...
Post a Comment
Read more

Three Dead, Seven Injured by Artillery Shells in Two Incidents in Myanmar’s Mrauk-U

By MIN AUNG KHINE 2 December 2019 Sittwe, Rakhine State –Three Mrauk-U township residents died and four others were injured when an artillery shell struck their community in the Ale Zay quarter of Mrauk-U town on Monday afternoon after 4 p.m. A month-old girl, a 4-year-old boy and a 30-year-old woman died, according to Dr. Khin Maung Yin, the head of Mrauk-U hospital. He said, “A man and three other women were injured. One of the women sustained severe injures to her left leg and her right knee was dislocated. The injured will be operated on.” Details of what occurred were not yet known. A few hours earlier, three civilians were injured when an artillery shell fell on the village of Na Leik in Mrauk-U Township, Rakhine State, western Myanmar, on Monday at around 1 p.m., according to Yan Aung Pyin village-tract administrator U Sein Hla Aung. Two females, aged 13 and 27, and an 18-year-old male were injured in the incident, he said. Three people were hit by shrapnel and we have...
Post a Comment
Read more

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do...
1 comment
Read more