Fantastic news.
Two Reuters journalists — Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo — have been released from incarceration in the Asian nation of Myanmar, where they had been held for 500 days.
Last month, the pair were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for their investigation into Myanmar’s Inn Din massacre, a report which also got them arrested under the pretence of having breached the Official Secrets Act.
The massacre was an incident of oppression against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim population in which 10 people were executed with guns and machetes before being buried in a mass grave. The arrests of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo directed more attention to the massacre, for which the army had exonerated itself. The increased pressure resulted in hard labour sentences for seven soldiers.
The arrest was largely seen as an attack on the freedom of the press, intended to intimidate journalists.
Upon his long-awaited release, Lone told the BBC: “I’m really happy and excited to see my family and my colleagues. I can’t wait to go to my newsroom.”
He has expressly stated to continue his work in journalism.
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