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Jailed Reuters journalists released from prison in Myanmar

Jailed Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have been freed in Myanmar, after a presidential amnesty.

The pair were sentenced to seven years in prison last September after being convicted under the Official Secrets Act.

The journalists were arrested after acquiring “secret papers” from two policemen as they reported on the military crackdown against Rohingya Muslims.

They always insisted they had been framed.

The BBC reported that as he left the prison, Wa Lone said he would never stop being a journalist.

“I’m really happy and excited to see my family and my colleagues. I can’t wait to go to my newsroom,” he said.

The pair were released along with thousands of other prisoners as part of mass amnesties that take place annually.

Reuters’ Editor-in-Chief Stephen J Adler said: “We are enormously pleased Myanmar has released our courageous reporters. They have become symbols of the importance of press freedom.”

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