Myanmar: Jailed Reuters journalists to appeal against prison sentence

The two jailed Reuters journalists in Myanmar - Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo - will be lodging an appeal on Monday challenging the seven-year prison sentence handed to them under the country's Official Secrets Act in September this year.

The two journalists, who have been lodged in a Myanmar jail since a year, are accused of being in possession of classified material on security operations. However, the duo has refuted the charges and pleaded not guilty, claiming that they have been framed by the police.

Both reporters were named as TIME's Person of the Year 2018 earlier this month, amongst other titles which have been bestowed on the duo.

They were covering the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar's Rakhine state in December last year when they were detained. There have been repeated calls by the international community for their release, with many drawing attention towards press freedom in Myanmar.