Myanmar frees two Reuters journalists in amnesty

Two Reuters journalists who had been jailed for their reporting on the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar walked out of prison Tuesday, freed in a presidential amnesty after a global campaign for their release.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were mobbed by media as they stepped out of Yangon's notorious Insein prison after their lengthy detention.

Their December 2017 arrests made them an international cause celebre and a sign of Myanmar's deteriorating press freedoms under Nobel laureate and civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Wa Lone, 33, thanked people from "around the world" for advocating for their release and vowed he would return to work.

"I can't wait to go to my newsroom," he said. "I am a journalist and I am going to continue." Reuters editor-in-chief Stephen Adler said: "We are enormously pleased that Myanmar has released our courageous reporters".

"Since their arrests 511 days ago, they have become symbols of the importance of press freedom around the world. We welcome their return."