The two were arrested in December while investigating the alleged killing of ten Rohingya Muslims by soldiers and Buddhist villagers in the state of Rakhine in the western part of the country and charged in terms of the country’s Official Secrets Act, laws which were introduced in 1923 when the territory was under British rule.

Their trial has been widely condemned as a travesty of justice and a massive blow to press freedom in Myanmar.

The sentences, and the lack of condemnation from Aung San Suu Syi, the Nobel Peace prize winner and now state counsellor, are shameful.

The Cape Town Press Club adds its voice to calls for the journalists to be freed and their trial reviewed as a matter of urgency.

Brent Meersman
Chairperson Cape Town Press Club