Two Myanmar Reuters journalists will file an appeal this week against a seven-year prison sentence linked to reporting on the Rohingya crisis, their defence lawyer said Monday.

Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were sentenced early September under a hardline state secrets act while investigating the massacre of 10 Rohingya Muslims during the military's bloody crackdown last year.

Condemnation echoed around the world after what was widely regarded as a sham trial and an effort to silence media scrutiny of the army's campaign against the Rohingya.

Defence lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told AFP that "everything is ready" for an appeal to be filed before the deadline on Saturday.&nbsp;

Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi refused to intervene during the trial even though her government had the power to drop the charges.

But Myanmar's president - a Suu Kyi proxy - could now pardon the pair.

The appeal process should not affect the request for a presidential pardon, lawyer Khin Maung Zaw added.

However, the High Court is likely to take up to five or six months to rule on the appeal, leaving the reporters in jail.

"I'm quite confident," Khin Maung Zaw said.

"But in our country, nothing is certain. Anything can happen."

If the High Court upholds the verdict, the reporters will appeal to the country's Supreme Court in a process that would take at least another six months.

President Win Myint has issued pardons in the past and also intervened in the recent case of three reporters arrested over an article accusing the Yangon government of financial mismanagement.&nbsp;

But Win Myint has so far refrained from commenting on the Reuters case.

Pardoning Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo could antagonise the still-mighty military and stoke resentment from a public that is largely apathetic - if not hostile - towards the duo's plight.

Many in Myanmar regard the Rohingya as illegal immigrants and have little sympathy for their cause.

The military-led crackdown that started in August last year forced more than 720,000 Rohingya into sprawling camps in Bangladesh with refugees bringing horrific testimony of murder, rape and arson.

UN investigators are urging for the prosecution of Myanmar's top generals for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Myanmar and its military vehemently reject the court's jurisdiction over the country and deny nearly all allegations of wrongdoing.

They insist the campaign was a legitimate response to attacks by Rohingya militants.

Two Myanmar Reuters journalists will file an appeal this week against a seven-year prison sentence linked to reporting on the Rohingya crisis, their defence lawyer said Monday.

Two Myanmar Reuters journalists will file an appeal this week against a seven-year prison sentence linked to reporting on the Rohingya crisis, their defence lawyer said Monday. Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were sentenced early September under a hardline state secrets act while investigating the massacre of 10 Rohingya Muslims during the military's bloody crackdown last year. Condemnation echoed around the world after what was widely regarded as a sham trial and an effort to silence media scrutiny of the army's campaign against the Rohingya. Defence lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told AFP that "everything is ready" for an appeal to be filed before the deadline on Saturday. Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi refused to intervene during the trial even though her government had the power to drop the charges. But Myanmar's president - a Suu Kyi proxy - could now pardon the pair. The appeal process should not affect the request for a presidential pardon, lawyer Khin Maung Zaw added. However, the High Court is likely to take up to five or six months to rule on the appeal, leaving the reporters in jail. "I'm quite confident," Khin Maung Zaw said. "But in our country, nothing is certain. Anything can happen." If the High Court upholds the verdict, the reporters will appeal to the country's Supreme Court in a process that would take at least another six months. President Win Myint has issued pardons in the past and also intervened in the recent case of three reporters arrested over an article accusing the Yangon government of financial mismanagement. But Win Myint has so far refrained from commenting on the Reuters case. Pardoning Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo could antagonise the still-mighty military and stoke resentment from a public that is largely apathetic - if not hostile - towards the duo's plight. Many in Myanmar regard the Rohingya as illegal immigrants and have little sympathy for their cause. The military-led crackdown that started in August last year forced more than 720,000 Rohingya into sprawling camps in Bangladesh with refugees bringing horrific testimony of murder, rape and arson. UN investigators are urging for the prosecution of Myanmar's top generals for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Myanmar and its military vehemently reject the court's jurisdiction over the country and deny nearly all allegations of wrongdoing. They insist the campaign was a legitimate response to attacks by Rohingya militants.

Jailed Myanmar Reuters reporters to file appeal

Prominent human rights lawyer Amal Clooney appealed to Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday over a pardon for two Reuters journalists imprisoned in Myanmar, saying the Nobel laureate held the key to their release.

The two fathers, accused of breaching Myanmar's state secrets law while reporting on a massacre of Rohingya Muslims, were jailed for seven years earlier this month, fueling international outrage.

Clooney said the journalists' families had already submitted a request for their pardon, adding that the president can grant a pardon following consultation with Suu Kyi.

"The government can, if it wants to, end it today," the British-Lebanese lawyer told an event dedicated to press freedom on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

She held de facto leader Suu Kyi to her stated priority of releasing prisoners of conscience and of having spoken of the need for a free press if the country is to transition to a full democracy.

"She knows that mass murder is not a state secret and that exposing it doesn't turn a journalist into a spy," Clooney said.

Earlier this month, Suu Kyi defended the jailing of Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, hitting back at global criticism of a trial widely seen as an attempt to muzzle the free press.

"She holds the key, the key to their liberty, the key to reuniting them with their young children, the key to freedom of the press.

"The key to truth and accountability, and the key to a more democratic and prosperous Myanmar," Clooney said. "History will judge her on her response."

Clooney recalled that when she was a student at St Hugh's College, Oxford, the Nobel peace laureate, who studied at the same college 30 years earlier, had been "a hero to me."

"Aung Sang Suu Kyi knows better than anyone what it is like to be a political prisoner in Myanmar. She has slept in a cell at the prison where Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo now sleep," she said.

Suu Kyi, once garlanded as a global rights champion, has come under intense pressure to use her moral authority inside Myanmar to press for a presidential pardon for the reporters.

Myanmar rejects ICC&nbsp;

The case, which sparked an international outcry, was seen as an attempt to muzzle reporting on last year's crackdown by Myanmar's security forces on the Muslim Rohingya minority in Rakhine state.

Army-led "clearance operations" drove 700,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh, carrying with them widespread accounts of atrocities -- rape, murder and arson -- by Myanmar police and troops.

The reporters say they were set up while exposing the extrajudicial killing of 10 Rohingya Muslims in a Rakhine village last year.

Clooney, wife of Hollywood A-lister George Clooney, announced in March that she would join the legal team representing the journalists.

Myanmar government minister Kyaw Tint Swe told the General Assembly that his government "resolutely rejected" a decision by the International Criminal Court to investigate crimes against the Rohingya.

The ICC ruled that the investigation could go ahead because Bangladesh is a signatory of the Rome statute that created the court. Myanmar has not signed the statute.

"Let me make it clear: while the government is unable to accept this legally dubious intervention by the ICC, we are fully committed to ensuring accountability where there is concrete evidence of human rights violations committed in Rakhine state," said the minister.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the fate of the Rohingya was a matter to be addressed by Myanmar and Bangladesh, suggesting that the United Nations should not intervene.

China, a supporter of Myanmar's former ruling junta, has shielded the government in Naypyidaw from sanctions or other action by the UN Security Council.

Prominent human rights lawyer Amal Clooney appealed to Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday over a pardon for two Reuters journalists imprisoned in Myanmar, saying the Nobel laureate held the key to their release.

Prominent human rights lawyer Amal Clooney appealed to Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday over a pardon for two Reuters journalists imprisoned in Myanmar, saying the Nobel laureate held the key to their release. The two fathers, accused of breaching Myanmar's state secrets law while reporting on a massacre of Rohingya Muslims, were jailed for seven years earlier this month, fueling international outrage. Clooney said the journalists' families had already submitted a request for their pardon, adding that the president can grant a pardon following consultation with Suu Kyi. "The government can, if it wants to, end it today," the British-Lebanese lawyer told an event dedicated to press freedom on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. She held de facto leader Suu Kyi to her stated priority of releasing prisoners of conscience and of having spoken of the need for a free press if the country is to transition to a full democracy. "She knows that mass murder is not a state secret and that exposing it doesn't turn a journalist into a spy," Clooney said. Earlier this month, Suu Kyi defended the jailing of Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, hitting back at global criticism of a trial widely seen as an attempt to muzzle the free press. "She holds the key, the key to their liberty, the key to reuniting them with their young children, the key to freedom of the press. "The key to truth and accountability, and the key to a more democratic and prosperous Myanmar," Clooney said. "History will judge her on her response." Clooney recalled that when she was a student at St Hugh's College, Oxford, the Nobel peace laureate, who studied at the same college 30 years earlier, had been "a hero to me." "Aung Sang Suu Kyi knows better than anyone what it is like to be a political prisoner in Myanmar. She has slept in a cell at the prison where Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo now sleep," she said. Suu Kyi, once garlanded as a global rights champion, has come under intense pressure to use her moral authority inside Myanmar to press for a presidential pardon for the reporters. Myanmar rejects ICC The case, which sparked an international outcry, was seen as an attempt to muzzle reporting on last year's crackdown by Myanmar's security forces on the Muslim Rohingya minority in Rakhine state. Army-led "clearance operations" drove 700,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh, carrying with them widespread accounts of atrocities -- rape, murder and arson -- by Myanmar police and troops. The reporters say they were set up while exposing the extrajudicial killing of 10 Rohingya Muslims in a Rakhine village last year. Clooney, wife of Hollywood A-lister George Clooney, announced in March that she would join the legal team representing the journalists. Myanmar government minister Kyaw Tint Swe told the General Assembly that his government "resolutely rejected" a decision by the International Criminal Court to investigate crimes against the Rohingya. The ICC ruled that the investigation could go ahead because Bangladesh is a signatory of the Rome statute that created the court. Myanmar has not signed the statute. "Let me make it clear: while the government is unable to accept this legally dubious intervention by the ICC, we are fully committed to ensuring accountability where there is concrete evidence of human rights violations committed in Rakhine state," said the minister. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the fate of the Rohingya was a matter to be addressed by Myanmar and Bangladesh, suggesting that the United Nations should not intervene. China, a supporter of Myanmar's former ruling junta, has shielded the government in Naypyidaw from sanctions or other action by the UN Security Council.

Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney appeals to Suu Kyi for reporters' release

aung-san-suu-kyi-0

Aung San Suu Kyi, News on Aung San Suu Kyi, stories on Aung San Suu Kyi, articles on Aung San Suu Kyi, Aung San Suu Kyi stories at Wion, Aung San Suu Kyi news, Aung San Suu Kyi latest news

aung san-suu-kyi-0

Jailed Myanmar Reuters reporters to file appeal

Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney appeals to Suu Kyi for reporters' release