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Myanmar Releases Thousands Of Prisoners, Including Reuters Journalists

The two men were among 6,520 prisoners who were granted amnesty by Myanmar's president.

Myanmar Releases Thousands Of Prisoners, Including Reuters Journalists

Office of the Myanmar President

By Katherine Biek

Posted: 6:29 a.m. EDT May 7, 2019

More than 6,500 prisoners were released in Myanmar Tuesday after being granted amnesty by the country's president.

A prison chief confirmed that Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were among those pardoned.

The two had been investigating allegations of killings of Rohingya Muslims by Myanmar's government when they were arrested back in December 2017. They were later convicted of breaking the Official Secrets Act and sentenced to seven years in prison.

Last month, Myanmar's Supreme Court rejected the journalists' final appeal to overturn their sentence.

The United Nations in Myanmar applauded the journalists' release in a statement, calling it "a sign of [the] Government's commitment to Myanmar's transition to democracy."

Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.

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