Reuters journalists freed from Myanmar jail after 511 days

Two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, 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. (Reuters)

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 last month. (Reuters)

Before their arrest in December 2017, they had been working on an investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys by security forces and Buddhist civilians in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State during an army crackdown that began in August 2017. (Reuters)

The report the two men authored, featuring testimony from perpetrators, witnesses and families of the victims, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting in May, adding to a number of accolades received by the pair for their journalism. (Reuters)

Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo celebrate with their children after being freed from prison, after receiving a presidential pardon in Yangon, Myanmar. (Reuters)