Two Reuters reporters freed in Myanmar after more than 500 days in jail

Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo celebrate after being freed from prison, after receiving a presidential pardon in Yangon, Myanmar on May 7, 2019. [Reuters]

Two Reuters journalists jailed in Myanmar after they were convicted of breaking the Official Secrets Act walked free from a prison on the outskirts of Yangon on Tuesday after spending more than 500 days behind bars.

The two reporters, Wa Lone, 33, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 29, had been convicted in September and sentenced to seven years in jail, in a case that raised questions about Myanmar’s progress toward democracy and sparked an outcry from diplomats and human rights advocates.