YANGON, MYANMAR - A Myanmar police officer testified Friday that he and several colleagues were ordered to entrap two reporters working for the Reuters news agency, dealing a major blow to the government’s case against the journalists.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have been detained since Dec. 12 on charges of violating the colonial-era Official Secrets Act that could get them up to 14 years in prison. The two helped cover the crisis in Myanmar's Rakhine state, where a brutal counterinsurgency operation last year drove about 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to neighboring Bangladesh.

Police Capt. Moe Yan Naing told the court that his superior had arranged for two policemen to meet the reporters at a restaurant and hand over documents described as “important secret papers” in order to entrap them.

Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, counsel for the two journalists and Reuters, called on the prosecution to drop the case immediately, and if not she said the district judge should dismiss it.

“It is now clear to any impartial observer that this case is a bungled attempt to entrap two innocent young men,” she said in a statement. “The U.S., U.K., Canada, the U.N. and the European Union have already demanded the journalists’ release, and further action may follow if the case is not resolved.”

Moe Yan Naing said he and other colleagues who had been interviewed earlier by Wa Lone about their activities in Rakhine had been interrogated under the direction of Brig. Gen. Tin Ko Ko of the 8th Security Police Battalion.

Reuters journalist Kyaw Soe Oo, center, is escorte Reuters journalist Kyaw Soe Oo, center, is escorted by police as they leave the court, April 4, 2018, Yangon, Myanmar. Reuters journalist Kyaw Soe Oo, center, is escorted by police as they leave the court, April 4, 2018, Yangon, Myanmar.

Security forces in Rakhine have been accused of serious human rights violations, including rape and extrajudicial killings, against the persecuted ethnic Rohingya Muslims. Last week, Myanmar’s military announced it had sentenced seven soldiers to 10 years in prison for their part in the killings, a case covered by the two reporters.

According to the police captain, Tin Ko Ko ordered an officer who had previously spoken to Wa Lone to arrange the Dec. 12 meeting, and threatened other police officers he sent to the meeting that if they did not carry out the arrests, they would be sent to jail themselves.

“The reason why I testified the truth was because police should have their own standard and dignity,” Moe Yan Naing told reporters outside the courtroom after testifying as a prosecution witness. “Whatever I testified was the truth.”

He was able to speak to the media only briefly before being led away by a plainclothes security official. He has been under arrest since Dec. 12, apparently for having spoken to Wa Lone the month before.

Reuters issued a statement after the hearing saying that the court had “finally heard the truth.”

“One of the prosecution’s own witnesses admitted that the police received orders to plant evidence and arrest Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo on false charges,” it said. “This case cannot be squared with fairness or justice, and it’s time to bring it to an end. We call for our journalists’ immediate release.”

Clooney said “silencing critics through false arrests and arbitrary detention flies in the face of Myanmar's professed dedication to the rule of law and free speech, and risks lasting damage to the country's reputation and economy.”

“But the truthful testimony of a brave witness is a step in the right direction,” she said in Friday’s statement.

Defense lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said: ``We cannot say exactly if the two journalists will be released or not, but police officer Moe Yan Naing has revealed the real case.''

“This is such a big risk for him for telling the truth,” Khin Maung Zaw said, expressing concern for his safety. “This is why you all journalists should watch closely over him because we don’t know what’s going to happen. We don’t even know if he is coming in to the next hearing with an injured face.”

Other prosecution witnesses have earlier offered confusing and conflicting testimony, lending weight to the belief that the arrests were a clumsy setup by the government, which is sensitive to any reporting critical of its activities in Rakhine.

However, the judge has denied defense motions to drop the case.

“We are very surprised that the truth has been revealed, and we thought since the beginning that this case was set up,” said Than Zaw Aung, another lawyer for the reporters. “We did not expect that the police would testify like that. But this testimony will be a very strong support for the defendants.”

Wa Lone reaffirmed his innocence to journalists as he was boarding a police truck to be taken back to jail.

“The truth is coming out. I believe that truth and justice is coming,” he shouted.

Government spokesman Zaw Htay said he would not comment on the proceedings because the judiciary is independent and the trial is ongoing.</s>YANGON (Reuters) - A Myanmar police chief ordered officers to “trap” a Reuters reporter arrested in December, telling them to meet the journalist at a restaurant and give him “secret documents”, prosecution witness Police Captain Moe Yan Naing told a court on Friday.

Detained Reuters journalist Wa Lone is escorted by police before a court hearing in Yangon, Myanmar April 20, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang

Moe Yan Naing gave details to the court of the hours leading up to the Dec. 12 arrest of Wa Lone, 32, and Reuters colleague Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, who had accompanied him to the meeting, and said the police had arranged a “set up”.

The court in Yangon has been holding hearings since January to decide whether the pair will be charged under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

At the time of their arrest, they had been working on a Reuters investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys in a village in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state, during an army crackdown that United Nations agencies say has sent nearly 700,000 people fleeing to Bangladesh.

“This officer spoke based on his own feelings,” Police spokesman Colonel Myo Thu Soe told Reuters by phone after the hearing. He said Moe Yan Naing’s testimony “cannot be assumed as true - we still need to listen to the remaining witnesses so the situation will become clearer”.

Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay said in a text message response, in English, to Reuters questions: “It’s in the court process now, we already assured to get the cover of the independent judiciary.”

Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, who is part of the team representing the Reuters reporters, said in a statement the prosecution should now drop the case or the judge should dismiss it.

In a statement after the hearing, Reuters President and Editor-in-Chief Stephen J. Adler said: “Today the court finally heard the truth. One of the prosecution’s own witnesses admitted that the police received orders to plant evidence and arrest Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo on false charges. This case cannot be squared with fairness or justice, and it’s time to bring it to an end.”

“GET WA LONE”

In his testimony, the police captain said he had been interviewed in November by Wa Lone about police operations in Rakhine state. He was one of two officers from the paramilitary 8th Security Police Battalion who the police identified in December as “allegedly involved in the case”.

Moe Yan Naing said he had been under arrest since the night of Dec. 12, accused of violating the Police Disciplinary Act.

He said that earlier on the day the Reuters reporters were arrested he was picked up from his post in Yangon and taken to Battalion 8’s headquarters on the northern edges of the city.

When he arrived, he said he found himself among a group of several other Battalion 8 policemen who had given interviews to Wa Lone. They were interrogated by what he described as a police “information team” about their interactions with the Reuters reporter.

Moe Yan Naing told the court that police Brigadier General Tin Ko Ko, who led the internal probe, ordered police Lance Corporal Naing Lin to arrange a meeting with Wa Lone that night and hand over “secret documents from Battalion 8”.

“Police Brigadier General Tin Ko Ko gave the documents to Police Lance Corporal Naing Lin and told him to give them to Wa Lone and said that when Wa Lone comes out of the restaurant, the Htaunt Kyant regional police force has to entrap him and arrest him,” said Moe Yan Naing.

“Police Brigadier General Tin Ko Ko told the police members, ‘if you don’t get Wa Lone, you will go to jail’,” said Moe Yan Naing. He told the court he witnessed the exchange.

Moe Yan Naing said the police chief violated police ethics and “disgraced the union government and made the union government misunderstood by the international community”.

Tin Ko Ko has previously served as the police chief in Rakhine state and in a senior police post in the capital Naypyitaw, according to local media and the police spokesman. He is currently head of the No.2 security police command based in Yangon, which oversees security police battalions, said police spokesman Myo Thu Soe.

Asked about Moe Yan Naing’s account of Tin Ko Ko’s orders, the police spokesman said that the brigadier general “has no reason to do such a thing. A police brigadier general who is serving at Myanmar police force would not act irresponsibly.”

Myo Thu Soe declined to comment further on specific accusations Moe Yan Naing made during his testimony.

DINNER MEETING

The reporters have told relatives they were arrested almost immediately after being handed some rolled up papers at a restaurant in northern Yangon by two policemen they had not met before, having been invited to meet the officers for dinner.

Neither policeman has given testimony so far during the court proceedings.

Previous police witnesses have said the reporters were stopped and searched at a traffic checkpoint by officers who were unaware they were journalists, and were found to be holding documents relating to security force deployments in Rakhine.

After Moe Yan Naing gave his testimony, lead prosecutor Kyaw Min Aung filed a motion to have him declared a “hostile witness”, according to defence lawyer Khin Maung Zaw.

Slideshow (2 Images)

Khin Maung Zaw explained that if he declares the witness as “hostile” the judge would put less weight on his testimony. However, he added that “we can still use his testimony, along with the other information, testimony and pieces of evidence”.

The judge adjourned the proceedings until April 25.

The prosecutor did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.</s>YANGON (AFP) - A Myanmar police chief ordered officers to set up a Reuters reporter by handing over sensitive documents to him in a sting operation that also ensnared his colleague, a police official told a court on Friday (April 20).

Reporters Wa Lone, 32 and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28 were detained in December 2017 after meeting police for dinner in Yangon. They were accused of violating the country's Official Secrets Act for possessing material relating to operations in conflict-hit Rakhine state.

They were arrested while investigating a Sept 2 massacre of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine, but their report was published while they were behind bars.

Myanmar has been accused of waging an ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya after some 700,000 fled to Bangladesh following a brutal military crackdown on insurgents in August.

The military has denied allegations that the armed forces committed atrocities with the exception of the September massacre in Inn Din village for which seven soldiers were sentenced to 10-year prison terms.

For months now, a Yangon court has been hearing testimony to decide whether the Reuters journalists will go to trial even as global criticism of the case has rained down on Myanmar and prominent rights attorney Amal Clooney joined the legal team.

Deputy police major Moe Yan Naing said in his appearance on Friday that he had been questioned about meeting Wa Lone in November and that his superior then set up a sting in which he told others to pass on sensitive security documents.

"Police Brigadier Tin Ko Ko asked Htauk Kyant (township) police members to arrest Wa Lone after Lance Corporal Naing Lin handed the documents to Wa Lone when they left," he said, describing orders to "get" the reporter.

Kyaw Soe Oo accompanied Wa Lone to the restaurant meeting and was also arrested.

Yangon police officials could not be reached for comment.

Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay said in response to questions about the testimony that the case is ongoing and a judge will decide.

Moe Yan Naing said he was angry that his name had been mentioned in the aftermath of the sting as someone who was under scrutiny. He is facing charges of breaching police regulations and was brought to the hearing from detention.

The prosecution argued that he should be declared a hostile witness as his testimony differed from what he had told police investigators, but the Reuters defence team praised his remarks as genuine.

"He answered all this by taking risk for himself," lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said.

A judge will hear arguments about the motion next week.

In brief comments to AFP as he arrived at the court in the morning, Moe Yan Naing said he was "going to tell the whole truth" in his appearance.

Myanmar lifted many restrictions on the press as it emerged from five decades of military rule in 2011 but critics have accused Aung San Suu Kyi's new government of backsliding on previous reforms and failing to protect free expression.</s>A Myanmar police chief ordered officers to set up a Reuters reporter by handing over sensitive documents to him in a sting operation that also ensnared his colleague, a police official told a court Friday.

Reporters Wa Lone, 32 and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28 were detained in December after meeting police for dinner in Yangon and accused of violating the country’s Official Secrets Act for possessing material relating to operations in conflict-hit Rakhine state.

They were arrested while investigating a September 2 massacre of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine, but their report was published while they were behind bars.

Myanmar has been accused of waging an ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya after some 700,000 fled to Bangladesh following a brutal military crackdown on insurgents in August.

The military has denied allegations that the armed forces committed widespread atrocities.

But it has admitted soldiers took part in a massacre of Rohingyas last September in Inn Din village, a murder spree that the Reuters reporters helped uncover. Seven soldiers were recently sentenced to 10-year prison terms for the killings.

Nonetheless the prosecution of the reporters has continued.

For months now a Yangon court has been hearing testimony to decide whether the Reuters journalists will go to trial even as global criticism of the case has rained down on Myanmar and prominent rights attorney Amal Clooney joined the legal team.

Deputy police major Moe Yan Naing said in his appearance Friday that he had been questioned about meeting Wa Lone in November and that his superior then set up a sting in which he told others to pass on sensitive security documents.

“Police Brigadier Tin Ko Ko asked Htauk Kyant (township) police members to arrest Wa Lone after Lance Corporal Naing Lin handed the documents to Wa Lone when they left,” he said, describing orders to “get” the reporter.

Kyaw Soe Oo accompanied Wa Lone to the restaurant meeting and was also arrested.

Yangon police officials could not be reached for comment.

Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay said in response to questions about the testimony that the case is ongoing and a judge will decide.

Moe Yan Naing said he was angry that his name had been mentioned in the aftermath of the sting as someone who was under scrutiny.

He is facing charges of breaching police regulations and was brought to the hearing from detention.

The prosecution argued that he should be declared a hostile witness as his testimony differed from what he had told police investigators, but the Reuters defence team praised his remarks as genuine.

“He answered all this by taking risk for himself,” lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said.

A judge will hear arguments about the motion next week.

In brief comments to AFP as he arrived at the court in the morning, Moe Yan Naing said he was “going to tell the whole truth” in his appearance.

Reuters president and editor-in-chief Stephen J. Adler said in a statement that the court had finally heard the truth and called for the journalists’ immediate release.

“One of the prosecution’s own witnesses admitted that the police received orders to plant evidence and arrest Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo on false charges,” he said.

“This case cannot be squared with fairness or justice, and it’s time to bring it to an end.”

Myanmar lifted many restrictions on the press as it emerged from five decades of military rule in 2011.

But critics have accused Aung San Suu Kyi’s new government of backsliding on previous reforms and failing to protect free expression.</s>YANGON, Myanmar -- A Myanmar police officer testified Friday that he and several colleagues were ordered to entrap two reporters working for the Reuters news agency, dealing a major blow to the government's case against the journalists under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have been detained since Dec. 12 on charges that could get them up to 14 years in prison. The two helped cover the crisis in Myanmar's Rakhine state, where a brutal counterinsurgency operation last year drove about 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to neighbouring Bangladesh.

Police Capt. Moe Yan Naing told the court that his superior had arranged for two policemen to meet the reporters at a restaurant and hand over documents described as "important secret papers" in order to entrap them.

He said he and other colleagues who had been interviewed earlier by Wa Lone about their activities in Rakhine had been interrogated under the direction of Brig. Gen. Tin Ko Ko of the 8th Security Police Battalion.

Security forces in Rakhine have been accused of serious human rights violations, including rape and extrajudicial killings, against the persecuted ethnic Rohingya Muslims. Last week, Myanmar's military announced it had sentenced seven soldiers to 10 years in prison for their part in the killings, a case covered by the two reporters.

According to the captain, Tin Ko Ko ordered an officer who had previously spoken to Wa Lone to arrange the Dec. 12 meeting, and threatened other police officers he sent to the meeting that if they did not carry out the arrests, they would be sent to jail themselves.

"The reason why I testified the truth was because police should have their own standard and dignity," Moe Yan Naing told reporters outside the courtroom after testifying as a prosecution witness. "Whatever I testified was the truth."

He was able to speak to the media only briefly before being led away by a plainclothes security official. He has been under arrest since Dec. 12, apparently for having spoken to Wa Lone the month before.

Reuters issued a statement after the hearing saying that the court had "finally heard the truth."

"One of the prosecution's own witnesses admitted that the police received orders to plant evidence and arrest Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo on false charges," it said. "This case cannot be squared with fairness or justice, and it's time to bring it to an end. We call for our journalists' immediate release."

The case has drawn international attention, with high-profile rights lawyer Amal Clooney recently joining the legal team representing the jailed journalists. The United States, Britain and Canada, as well as the United Nations, have called for freedom for the reporters.

"We cannot say exactly if the two journalists will be released or not, but police officer Moe Yan Naing has revealed the real case," said defence lawyer Khin Maung Zaw.

"This is such a big risk for him for telling the truth," Khin Maung Zaw said, expressing concern for his safety. "This is why you all journalists should watch closely over him because we don't know what's going to happen. We don't even know if he is coming in to the next hearing with an injured face. We don't know."

Other prosecution witnesses have earlier offered confusing and conflicting testimony, lending weight to the belief that the arrests were a clumsy setup by the government, which is sensitive to any reporting critical of its activities in Rakhine.

However, the judge has denied defence motions to drop the case.

"We are very surprised that the truth has been revealed, and we thought since the beginning that this case was set up," said Than Zaw Aung, another lawyer for the reporters. "We did not expect that the police would testify like that. But this testimony will be a very strong support for the defendants."

Wa Lone reaffirmed his innocence to journalists as he was boarding a police truck to be taken back to jail.

"The truth is coming out. I believe that truth and justice is coming," he shouted.

Government spokesman Zaw Htay said he would not comment on the proceedings because the judiciary is independent and the trial is ongoing.

"They will decide what is right," he said.</s>YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - The prosecution of two Myanmar journalists accused of violating a state secrets law by acquiring official documents given to them by police has suffered a setback after a police officer testified that he and his colleagues were ordered to entrap the reporters.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo of the Reuters news agency were arrested on Dec. 12 on charges that could get them up to 14 years in prison. The two had helped cover the crisis in Rakhine state, where an aggressive counterinsurgency operation drove about 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to neighboring Bangladesh.

Police Capt. Moe Yan Naing says a senior officer had arranged for two policemen to meet the reporters and hand over secret documents, and threatened that if they didn't arrest them, they would be jailed themselves.

Reuters journalist Wa Lone, center, thumbs up as he is escorted by police upon arrival at the court for trial in Yangon, Myanmar Friday, April 20, 2018. Myanmar court continues hearing on case against two Reuters journalists, arrested under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, for having restricted documents in their possession. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)</s>Detained Reuters journalist Wa Lone gestures to the media as he is escorted by police after a court hearing in Yangon Thomson Reuters By Serajul Quadir

DHAKA (Reuters) - U.S. envoy Sam Brownback called on Thursday for the release of journalists jailed in Myanmar while covering the plight of ethnic Rohingya Muslims forced to flee a military crackdown.

Brownback spoke in Bangladesh, where he was on a mission to see at first hand the plight of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya crammed into refugee camps in the Cox's Bazar region bordering Myanmar.

"The journalists should be released who are in jail in Myanmar," Brownback, ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, told a news conference in Dhaka, without naming any individuals or their employers.

The United States is among several governments pressing for the release of two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who have been held in Myanmar since December.

A court is deliberating over whether they will be charged under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act for possessing secret government papers - an offence that carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

Aside from the U.S. administration, Canada, Britain and several other European countries, as well as top United Nations and EU officials have called for the journalists' release.

On April 11, a Myanmar judge rejected a defense request to dismiss the case against the two reporters for lack of evidence. The judge said he wanted to hear eight remaining prosecution witnesses out of the 25 listed, according to defense lawyer Khin Maung Zaw.

Brownback praised the media's work covering events since the Rohingya crisis began in August, and said journalists should be allowed to move freely in Myanmar and the region to report on developments.

Brownback described the campaign against the Rohingya as "ethnic cleansing against a Muslim minority".

Myanmar rejects that description, saying its action was a legitimate counter-insurgency operation in response to a series of militant attacks on security posts and an army camp in its northwestern Rakhine state.

Earlier this month, however, seven Myanmar soldiers were sentenced to 10 years "with hard labor in a remote area" for participating in a massacre of 10 Rohingya Muslim men in Rakhine last September, the army said.

According to U.N. officials, nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled into Bangladesh from Rakhine.

Asked about possible U.S. measures against Myanmar over the crisis, Brownback told the news conference: "We will continue to investigate to get a clear picture."

He added that several members of the U.S. Congress and Vice President Mike Pence had expressed deep concern to him.

Myanmar reported on Saturday the first return to Rakhine state of a refugee Rohingya family from Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi government and the United Nations refugee agency said they had no knowledge of any such repatriation.</s>YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar army chief Min Aung Hlaing has told military personnel in the country that they must obey the law, citing as an example the sentencing of seven soldiers for a massacre of Rohingya Muslim men that was the subject of a Reuters investigation.

In a speech at a military school in the country's north, Min Aung Hlaing told soldiers they "must abide by the military codes of conduct and international laws and conventions", according to a translation posted on his official Facebook page on Thursday.

 "No one is above the law. Actions will be taken if someone breaks the law. The problems in Inn Din village ... were solved in line with the Geneva Convention and legal action was taken against military officers and other ranks who failed to respect the law," said Min Aung Hlaing, in his first direct comment on the killings.

 Seven soldiers were sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labor this month for taking part in the massacre of 10 Rohingya men in the village of Inn Din, in northwestern Rakhine state, last September.

 The massacre was being investigated by two Reuters journalists - Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28 - who were arrested in December and remain in custody accused of violating the country's Official Secrets Act.

 The authorities told Reuters in February the military opened an internal investigation into the killings independently and that it was unrelated to the Reuters reporters, who they said were accused of obtaining unrelated secret government papers.

 The Rohingya men were buried in a mass grave in early September after being hacked to death or shot by Buddhist civilian neighbors and soldiers. Reuters published its story on the murders in February.

 The killings were part of a larger army crackdown on the Rohingya, beset by allegations of murder, rape, arson and looting, unleashed in response to Rohingya militant attacks on security forces in late August. 

 Nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar as a result, according to United Nations agencies. The U.N. and the United States described it as ethnic cleansing - an accusation that Myanmar denies.

 Min Aung Hlaing, one of the most powerful people in a country where the constitution requires the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi to share power with the military, reiterated in his speech the army's position that the Rakhine operation was a legitimate counteroffensive against "Bengali terrorists".

 

 (Reporting by Antoni Slodkowski and Shoon Naing; Editing by Alex Richardson)</s>Two Reuters journalists have been arrested in Myanmar. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo had been covering a military crackdown on the Rohingya in Rakhine State. Lucy Fielder reports.</s>YANGON — The prosecution of two Myanmar journalists accused of violating a state secrets law by acquiring official documents given to them by police has suffered a setback after a police officer testified that he and his colleagues were ordered to entrap the reporters.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo of the Reuters news agency were arrested on Dec. 12 on charges that could get them up to 14 years in prison.

The two had helped cover the crisis in Rakhine state, where an aggressive counterinsurgency operation drove about 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to neighboring Bangladesh.

Police Capt. Moe Yan Naing says a senior officer had arranged for two policemen to meet the reporters and hand over secret documents, and threatened that if they didn’t arrest them, they would be jailed themselves.
A Myanmar police captain testifies in court that he and his colleagues were ordered by their superiors to entrap two Reuters journalists, who were arrested on 12 December 2017 for "possessing state secrets" under a colonial-era law. The journalists had been working on a report documenting the massacre at Inn Din.