MYANMAR'S SECRECY LAWS

Detained Reuters journalist Wa Lone's is being escorted by police
after a court hearing in Yangon, Myanmar February 1, 2018. 

YANGON: Myanmar court denies bail to journalists

A Myanmar court on Thursday denied bail to two Reuters journalists charged under a secrecy act    that could see them  face up to 14 years in jail-

*In a case that has sparked outcry over shrinking media freedom*.

Myanmar nationals  Wa Lone, 31 and  Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, are accused of possessing classified documents thought to relate to the violent military crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim minority.

The campaign in northern  Rakhine state  has forced nearly 700,000  Rohingya Muslims  over the border into Bangladesh since August, many carrying allegations of-

Rape,  mass murder and arson at the  hands of Myanmar's  Army.

''The Court has decided not to give them bail,'' Judge Ye Lwin told the Yangon court of charges under the   colonial-era  Official Secrets Act. [AFP].

The World Students Society is watching the development and appeals for a review.