Myanmar judge rules next week on dropping case against journos

YANGON, Apr 4 (AFP): A Myanmar judge said Wednesday he would decide next week on whether to throw out a case against two Reuters journalists who were arrested while reporting on military abuses against Rohingya Muslims.

Myanmar nationals Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, could face up to 14 years in prison on charges of possessing classified documents under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act.

Their plight has triggered global alarm over worsening media freedoms in Myanmar and government efforts to restrict reporting on northern Rakhine state, where troops are accused of waging an ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya minority.

Last week the journalists' lawyers asked the court to drop the case, which is still in a pre-trial hearing phase, saying there was not enough evidence to charge the pair.

On Wednesday defence and prosecution teams presented arguments on the motion to a courtroom packed with relatives, media and diplomats.

"I'm going to give a decision on Wednesday, April 11th," said Judge Ye Lwin.

At the time of their arrest four months ago the reporters were investigating the killing by security forces and ethnic Rakhine locals of 10 unarmed Rohingya Muslim men.

The army later acknowledged that security officers took part in the extrajudicial killings of the men, who were in custody at the time, in Inn Din village and vowed take action against those responsible.

But it has denied any other abuses against the Rohingya, rejecting allegations from the UN that troops are guilty of ethnic cleansing and possible genocide in a campaign that has expelled 700,000 Rohingya from the country since August.