The US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of two Reuters journalists, who were convicted and sentenced to prison for seven years in Myanmar, on Monday.
In a Monday evening Tweet, posted by the US mission to the UN, the ambassador called the conviction of the journalists for doing their job a “terrible stain on the Burmese government”.
“It is clear to all that the Burmese government has committed vast atrocities. In a free country it is the duty of the responsible press to keep people informed and hold leaders accountable,” said Ms Haley.
The United States will hold the presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of September and Ms Haley will be addressing a press conference on Tuesday afternoon where this issue is expected to be raised again.
The UN Secretary General’s spokesperson, too, released a statement urging the Burmese authorities to review their decision, on Monday evening.
“The right to freedom of expression and information is a cornerstone of any democracy. It is unacceptable that these journalists were prosecuted for reporting on major human rights violations against the Rohingya in Rakhine State,” said the statement.
“The Secretary-General will continue to advocate for the release of the journalists. He calls for full respect of freedom of the press and all human rights in Myanmar,” it further added.
A Myanmar judge on Monday found two Reuters journalists guilty of breaching a law on state secrets and jailed them for seven years.
The journalists Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were accused of breaching the colonial-era Official Secrets Act when they collected and obtained confidential documents.
The two reporters were investigating the killing by the security forces of Rohingya villagers at the time of their arrest and had pleaded not guilty to the accusations.
The United States and Ms Haley have been a strong critic of the Burmese government and last week she disclosed that the US State Department's own fact-finding report was "consistent" with the UN report and that the attacks on the Rohingyas were "planned, premeditated, and coordinated" by the military.
The State Department’s report was expected to be made public in the last week of August, but it’s still with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is reviewing it and deciding whether and when release it.
A State department spokesperson said: “At this time, we don’t have an update on the timeline. The Secretary of State will determine whether and to what extent to publicise this report.”
The US has not used the term “genocide” so far for the killings in Burma’s Rakhine state.
US media reports have suggested that the State Department’s legal division opposes the label “genocide” because it’s not convinced the U.S. can clearly establish the Myanmar military’s intent and differences over this issue could be one of the reasons for the delay in the release of the report.