UK calls on Myanmar's Suu Kyi to take personal interest in case of jailed Reuters reporters

Britain on Friday called on Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi to look at whether due process was followed in the case of two Reuters reporters sentenced to seven years in jail in Myanmar.

"We are very worried about due process in this case," British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt told BBC radio when asked about the case.

"We urge Aung San Suu Kyi to look at whether that due process happened and to recognise that, as someone who fought for democracy in Burma, she should be taking a personal interest in the future of these two brave journalists."

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A Myanmar court earlier on Friday rejected the appeal of the two reporters sentenced to seven years in jail, saying the defence had not provided sufficient evidence to show they were innocent.

Prosecutors saidthe two had classified information regarding security operations in Rakhine state, from where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled during an army-led crackdown the United Nations has dubbed "ethnic cleansing".

Lawyers can now appeal to the Supreme Court in Myanmar, a process that could take an estimated six months.

Reporters Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were arrested in Yangon in December 2017 and later jailed for violating the state secrets act, a charge Reuters said was trumped up to muzzle their reporting.

At the time of the arrest, they were probing a massacre of 10 Rohingya.

The original trial was widely regarded as a sham and seen as punishment for their investigation, sparking outrage around the world including from US Vice President Mike Pence.

Outside the country, the two men have been hailed as media freedom heroes and jointly named Time Magazine's Person of the Year 2018, alongside other persecuted and slain journalists.

But they have gained little sympathy within Myanmar.

The violent military campaign in 2017 forced more than 720,000 Rohingya across the border to Bangladesh, with refugees bringing accounts of murder, rape and arson.

UN investigators have called for top generals to be investigated for a genocide and singled out civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi for criticism for failing to stop the crackdown.

The image of the formerly renowned champion of human rights has been further damaged by the Reuters trial, and she has yet to speak up in their defence. Reacting to the verdict outside the court the European Union ambassador to Myanmar Kristian Schmidt said he looked to the president of Myanmar to "correct" the injustice with a possible pardon.