{
  "id": 78,
  "slug": "2018-myanmar-reuters-journalists-official-secrets-act",
  "title": "Myanmar sentences two Reuters journalists to seven years under the Official Secrets Act for reporting on a massacre",
  "occurred_on": "2018-09-03",
  "occurred_on_precision": "day",
  "ended_on": null,
  "jurisdiction": "MM",
  "country": "MM",
  "continent": "asia",
  "level": "national",
  "type": null,
  "tactic_primary": "secrets_and_espionage_laws",
  "leader_slug": "aung-san-suu-kyi",
  "issue_of_the_day": "The Reuters investigation into the killing of ten Rohingya Muslim men and boys by Myanmar soldiers and local residents in Inn Din village, Rakhine State, in September 2017.",
  "outcome": "reversed",
  "outcome_on": "2019-05-07",
  "outcome_note": "President Win Myint pardoned and released Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo on May 7, 2019, after 511 days in prison, as part of a mass amnesty.",
  "granularity": "anchor",
  "era": "2010s",
  "summary": "A Myanmar court sentenced Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo to seven years under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act after police handed them classified documents at a dinner shortly before their arrest, while they were investigating the killing of Rohingya Muslim villagers.{c:297}{c:298}{c:299}{c:300}",
  "what_happened": "Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were investigating the killing of ten Rohingya Muslim men and boys by soldiers and villagers in Rakhine State when police, in December 2017, invited them to dinner and handed them rolled-up documents just before officers arrested them for possessing the papers. Prosecutors charged them under Myanmar's Official Secrets Act, a colonial-era law against handling state documents without authorization. On September 3, 2018, a judge convicted and sentenced both men to seven years in prison. Reuters editor-in-chief Stephen Adler called it \"a sad day for Myanmar, Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, and the press everywhere.\" Human Rights Watch's Brad Adams said, \"7 years for reporting the truth is what we expect from dictatorships,\" and Britain's ambassador said the case \"struck a hammer blow to the rule of law.\" Aung San Suu Kyi's government, in which she held the position of State Counsellor, a de facto head-of-government role created for her since the constitution barred her from the presidency, did not intervene.{c:297}{c:298}{c:299}{c:300}",
  "stated_justification": "Prosecutors charged the two reporters under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act for possessing documents a police officer had handed them at a dinner shortly before their arrest, a setup the reporters' defense argued at trial.{c:297}{c:298}{c:299}{c:300}",
  "effect_on_reporting": "Two working journalists received seven-year prison sentences for reporting on a documented mass killing; Human Rights Watch's Brad Adams said, \"7 years for reporting the truth is what we expect from dictatorships,\" and the case drew wide international condemnation.{c:298}{c:299}",
  "unknowns": null,
  "status": "historical",
  "status_updated_on": "2026-09-22",
  "external_ids": {},
  "illustration_key": null,
  "pub_state": "published",
  "published_at": "2026-09-22T23:09:46Z",
  "reviewed_on": "2026-09-22",
  "next_review_on": "2026-12-22",
  "revision": 5,
  "created_at": "2026-09-22T23:09:41Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-09-23T00:10:44Z",
  "stage": "eliminate",
  "ladder_note": "Both reporters were pardoned in May 2019 after 511 days in prison.",
  "country_name": "Myanmar",
  "tactics": [
    "secrets_and_espionage_laws",
    "detention_and_violence"
  ],
  "leader": {
    "slug": "aung-san-suu-kyi",
    "name": "Aung San Suu Kyi",
    "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/aung-san-suu-kyi"
  },
  "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-myanmar-reuters-journalists-official-secrets-act",
  "page_meta": {
    "published": "2026-09-22T23:09:46Z",
    "reviewed": "2026-09-22",
    "sources": 2,
    "status": "historical",
    "statusAsOf": "2026-09-22",
    "unknowns": null
  },
  "actors": [
    {
      "slug": "aung-san-suu-kyi",
      "name": "Aung San Suu Kyi",
      "kind": "person",
      "role": "other",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/aung-san-suu-kyi"
    },
    {
      "slug": "kyaw-soe-oo",
      "name": "Kyaw Soe Oo",
      "kind": "person",
      "role": "other",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/kyaw-soe-oo"
    },
    {
      "slug": "wa-lone",
      "name": "Wa Lone",
      "kind": "person",
      "role": "other",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/wa-lone"
    }
  ],
  "outlets": [
    {
      "slug": "reuters",
      "name": "Reuters",
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/reuters"
    }
  ],
  "journalists": [],
  "cases": [],
  "related": [],
  "events": [],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": 297,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 78,
      "field": "action",
      "value": "Reuters calls the sentencing a sad day",
      "statement": "Reuters' editor-in-chief called the sentencing a sad day for the two journalists and the press everywhere.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 242,
      "evidence_quote": "Today is a sad day for Myanmar, Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, and the press everywhere.",
      "evidence_date": "2018-09-03",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "v2-research-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-22T23:09:41Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 242,
        "url": "https://www.npr.org/2018/09/03/644247839/reuters-journalists-convicted-sentenced-to-7-years-in-myanmar",
        "final_url": "https://www.npr.org/2018/09/03/644247839/reuters-journalists-convicted-sentenced-to-7-years-in-myanmar",
        "title": "Reuters Journalists In Myanmar Convicted, Sentenced To 7 Years",
        "publisher": "NPR",
        "published_on": "2018-09-03",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T23:23:23Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/297"
    },
    {
      "id": 298,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 78,
      "field": "effect_on_reporting",
      "value": "HRW compares sentence to dictatorships",
      "statement": "Human Rights Watch said a seven-year sentence for reporting the truth was what one would expect from dictatorships.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 242,
      "evidence_quote": "7 years for reporting the truth is what we expect from dictatorships.",
      "evidence_date": "2018-09-03",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "v2-research-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-22T23:09:42Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 242,
        "url": "https://www.npr.org/2018/09/03/644247839/reuters-journalists-convicted-sentenced-to-7-years-in-myanmar",
        "final_url": "https://www.npr.org/2018/09/03/644247839/reuters-journalists-convicted-sentenced-to-7-years-in-myanmar",
        "title": "Reuters Journalists In Myanmar Convicted, Sentenced To 7 Years",
        "publisher": "NPR",
        "published_on": "2018-09-03",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T23:23:23Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/298"
    },
    {
      "id": 299,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 78,
      "field": "effect_on_reporting",
      "value": "Reuters cites concerns about judicial independence",
      "statement": "Reuters said the flaws in the case raised concerns about rule of law and judicial independence in Myanmar.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 242,
      "evidence_quote": "The clear flaws in this case raise serious concerns about rule of law and judicial independence in Myanmar.",
      "evidence_date": "2018-09-03",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "v2-research-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-22T23:09:43Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 242,
        "url": "https://www.npr.org/2018/09/03/644247839/reuters-journalists-convicted-sentenced-to-7-years-in-myanmar",
        "final_url": "https://www.npr.org/2018/09/03/644247839/reuters-journalists-convicted-sentenced-to-7-years-in-myanmar",
        "title": "Reuters Journalists In Myanmar Convicted, Sentenced To 7 Years",
        "publisher": "NPR",
        "published_on": "2018-09-03",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T23:23:23Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
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      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/299"
    },
    {
      "id": 300,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 78,
      "field": "status",
      "value": "CPJ welcomes the journalists' release",
      "statement": "CPJ said it was relieved the two Reuters journalists were finally freed and should never have been jailed.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 243,
      "evidence_quote": "CPJ is deeply relieved that Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have finally been freed, and reiterates that Myanmar should never have charged and jailed them in the first place.",
      "evidence_date": "2019-05-07",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
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      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "v2-research-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-22T23:09:43Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 243,
        "url": "https://cpj.org/2019/05/reuters-wa-lone-kyaw-soe-oo-freed-myanmar-pardon/",
        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2019/05/reuters-wa-lone-kyaw-soe-oo-freed-myanmar-pardon/",
        "title": "Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo freed by pardon in Myanmar",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2019-05-07",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T23:23:23Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/300"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": 242,
      "url": "https://www.npr.org/2018/09/03/644247839/reuters-journalists-convicted-sentenced-to-7-years-in-myanmar",
      "final_url": "https://www.npr.org/2018/09/03/644247839/reuters-journalists-convicted-sentenced-to-7-years-in-myanmar",
      "title": "Reuters Journalists In Myanmar Convicted, Sentenced To 7 Years",
      "publisher": "NPR",
      "published_on": "2018-09-03",
      "link_state": "live",
      "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T23:23:23Z",
      "wayback_url": null,
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    },
    {
      "id": 243,
      "url": "https://cpj.org/2019/05/reuters-wa-lone-kyaw-soe-oo-freed-myanmar-pardon/",
      "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2019/05/reuters-wa-lone-kyaw-soe-oo-freed-myanmar-pardon/",
      "title": "Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo freed by pardon in Myanmar",
      "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
      "published_on": "2019-05-07",
      "link_state": "live",
      "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T23:23:23Z",
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  "revisions_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-myanmar-reuters-journalists-official-secrets-act/revisions",
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  },
  "cite_as": "Myanmar sentences two Reuters journalists to seven years under the Official Secrets Act for reporting on a massacre. The War On News, thewaronnews.com. https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-myanmar-reuters-journalists-official-secrets-act. Retrieved 2026-09-23."
}