All five remaining witnesses for the prosecution in the case against two Reuters news agency reporters on trial in Myanmar for possessing state secrets are police officers, a defense lawyer said Thursday, raising questions as to whether the witnesses will contradict previous testimony by another officer that authorities set up the pair, according to RFA.
At the most recent court session on Wednesday, Police Lance Corporal Naing Lin, called by the prosecution, testified that he met the two reporters — Thet Oo Maung, also known as Wa Lone, and Kyaw Soe Oo — on the night of their arrest on Dec. 12, but denied handing over classified documents to incriminate them.
The two were taken into custody on the outskirts of Yangon shortly after they had dinner with two police officers who gave them documents related to a military crackdown in Rakhine state. They were formally charged on Jan. 10 and face up to 14 years in prison if found guilty.