Family, friends and colleagues of two Reuters journalists imprisoned in Myanmar have called for their immediate release one year on from their arrest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were earlier this week honoured among other persecuted or killed journalists as Time magazine’s persons of the year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They were sentenced to seven years in jail for violating a state secrets act while reporting on the Rohingya crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The case has been widely seen as a test of press freedom in Myanmar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Supporters of the pair planned to gather in central Yangon on Wednesday evening, while people from around the world posted photos on social media of the “thumbs up” gesture that became a symbol of the pair’s court appearances.
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The two journalists had been investigating the murders of 10 Rohingya men by the army in the northern Rakhine village of Inn Dinn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They were detained in December last year while carrying official documents they had been given by two police officers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They have always maintained their innocence and say they were set up by the police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BBC Myanmar correspondent Nick Beake said the pair’s award-winning investigation forced a rare admission of guilt from the still powerful Burmese military. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it made no difference at their trial, he adds, explaining that for many, it was a farce – as seen when a police whistle-blower admitted that the reporters had been set up, before he too was jailed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n