缅甸当局拒绝两名路透社记者保释

Two Reuters journalists arrested in Myanmar for violating the country's colonial-era Official Secrets Act were denied bail during a court appearance Thursday.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested on December 12 after they were handed a stack of documents by two policemen at a restaurant in Yangon. The pair were covering the brutal military campaign in Rakhine state that has driven nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims across the border into Bangladesh.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo face 14 years in prison if they are convicted under the law, which dates back to 1923 when Myanmar was ruled by Britain.

Stephen J. Adler, Reuters president and editor-in-chief, issued a statement expressing his disappointment over the pair's continued imprisonment. "We believe the court proceedings will demonstrate their innocence and Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo will be able to return to their jobs reporting on events in Myanmar," Adler wrote. "We continue to call for their prompt release."

缅甸一家法院星期四拒绝两名路透社记者保释。这两名记者因违反缅甸殖民时代的“官方机密法”被逮捕。

路透社记者瓦龙和觉梭12月12日被捕。此前，两名警察在仰光的一家餐馆向他们转交了一叠文件。这两名记者当时正在报道发生在若开邦的残酷军事行动。缅甸军方的行动致使近70万罗兴亚穆斯林逃到邻国孟加拉国。

根据缅甸的官方机密法，如果瓦龙和觉梭被定罪，将面临14年囚禁。缅甸的官方机密法1923年实施，当时缅甸受英国的统治。

路透社总裁兼总编阿德勒发表声明，对两名记者被持续关押表示失望。声明说，“我们相信法庭的审理将展示瓦龙和觉梭是无辜的，让他们返回工作，报道缅甸的资讯。我们继续呼吁立即释放他们。”