"It was a suitable punishment," said High Court Judge Aung Naing, referring to the seven-year prison term meted out by the lower court. The defence has the option of making a further appeal to the country's supreme court, based in the capital Naypyitaw. They told the appeal court the lower court that tried the case had wrongly placed the burden of proof on the defendants. The judge said the defendants did not follow journalistic ethics and that the court could not determine whether the arrest of the reporters was a trap. Khine Khine Soe, a legal officer representing the government, told the appeal hearing that the evidence showed the reporters had collected and kept confidential documents.

Source: bd News24 January 11, 2019 06:56 UTC