Press Freedom
CPJ Updates
- Journalist Casimir Kpedjo detained, facing false news accusations in Benin
- Trial of detained Nicaraguan journalists Lucía Pineda and Miguel Mora indefinitely delayed
- Editor-in-chief of Mexican newspaper Reforma targeted by death threats following criticism from president
- Peruvian judge orders assets freeze for Ojo Público, 2 journalists in defamation case
- Israeli forces injure four Palestinian journalists covering Gaza protests
- Two journalists arrested covering yellow vest protests in France
- Jordanian journalist Abdulrahman Farhana detained by Saudi authorities
- Myanmar military sues The Irrawaddy for criminal defamation over conflict coverage
- #WeStandWithLyra
Reporter Without Borders
- Media Ownership Monitor: Pakistan a high-risk country in terms of media pluralism
- Russian authorities persecute Ingush news website
- Hong Kong: Journalists association deplores “one of the worst years” of press freedom
- LIBYA : eleven TV channels banned in eastern Libya
- Press freedom violations recounted in real time January 2019
- Burkina Faso: legislative threat to press freedom must be declared unconstitutional
- Erol Önderoğlu acquitted at one trial, but another due soon
- Media independence under threat in Burundi after BBC pull-out
OPC Applauds Release of Reuters Journalists
NEW YORK, May 7, 2019—The Overseas Press Club congratulates Reuters on the release of reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo who have been pardoned by Myanmar authorities. The journalists were arrested in December 2017 and later convicted of violating Myanmar’s Official Secrets Act and sentenced to seven years in prison.
Read the Reuters story here >>
Their release is a major victory for the global press freedom movement and Reuters’ relentless advocacy for their imprisoned journalists.
“We are enormously pleased that Myanmar has released our courageous reporters, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo,” said Steve Adler, editor in chief, Reuters in a statement. “Since their arrests 511 days ago, they have become symbols of the importance of press freedom around the world. We welcome their return.”
The United Nations praised the release of the Myanmar reporters but cautioned that “no positive progress has been observed” in the Myanmar’s government’s stance against freedom of expression.
“The situation for freedom of expression (in Myanmar) is dire,” said Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office.
The journalists were arrested in December 2017, a sign of Myanmar’s deteriorating press freedoms under Nobel laureate and civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
They were convicted on charges of violating the official secrets act and sentenced to seven years each.
The Overseas Press Club is an international association of journalists based in New York City that works to encourage the highest standards in journalism, to educate the next generation of foreign correspondents and to promote international press freedom and the well-being of colleagues in the field.