Myanmar Reuters journalists face verdict in landmark case

Two Reuters journalists in Myanmar face a ruling today that could see them each jailed for up to 14 years, a landmark case that ignited global outcry after they were arrested while investigating a Rohingya massacre.

Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, have been in Myanmar's Insein prison since December after they were invited to a dinner with police in Yangon and pounced on as they left the restaurant.

They were charged with violating a colonial-era state secrets act for possessing classified documents about Rakhine state, claims undercut by a police witness who said his superior had ordered a set-up and by arguments that the documents had been published in state media.

Reuters denied the charges and hired prominent rights attorney Amal Clooney to help, arguing the journalists were simply doing their job in working to expose abuses.

"We tried for them as much as we could the whole time," Than Zaw Aung, one of the lawyers for the journalists, told AFP a day before the verdict.

"Our journalists will be free if the judiciary is free and fair."