Yangon — 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. They were released under a presidential amnesty for 6,520 prisoners on Tuesday. President Win Myint has pardoned thousands of other prisoners in mass amnesties since April. It is customary in Myanmar for authorities to free prisoners across the country around the time of the traditional New Year, which began on April 17. Reuters has said the two men did not commit any crime and had called for their release. Swamped by media and well-wishers as they walked through the gates of Insein Prison, a grinning Wa ...
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