Appeals filed for 2 Myanmar journalists in secrets case

Lawyers for two Reuters journalists imprisoned in Myanmar have appealed the verdict that sent them to prison for seven years for illegal possession of official documents.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo had been reporting on the brutal crackdown on the Muslim Rohingya minority when they were arrested and charged with violating Myanmar's colonial-era Official Secrets Act. They had pleaded not guilty, contending that they were framed by police.

Reuters president Stephen Adler said in a statement Monday that the court's ruling had ignored "compelling evidence of a police set-up, serious due process violations, and the prosecution's failure to prove any of the key elements of the crime.