A verdict on two local Reuters journalists accused of illegally obtaining classified documents related to conflict-ridden Rakhine State in Myanmar was postponed Monday until Sept. 3.
The Yangon Northern District Court postponed the verdict planned for Monday as the judge presiding over the case, Ye Lwin, has been "sick" since Friday, a court official told a packed courtroom.
Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, are alleged to have violated the colonial-era Official Secrets Act by acquiring confidential military documents with the intention of harming the state, a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
The pair was arrested last December, after meeting a police officer who served in the western Myanmar state. In the trial, they pleaded not guilty, contending that they were targeted for exposing extrajudicial killings of Rohingya Muslims by the military there.
Court proceedings on the high-profile case concluded on Aug. 20, with the prosecution and defense making their final arguments.
The defense argued the journalists were set up by the police and pleaded to the judge to show them mercy, taking into account their relative youth, their ethical and moral integrity, and the fact that they have young children to care for.
(Defense lawyer for the two Reuters journalists speak to reporters on Aug. 27)
The postponement was announced just hours before an international fact-finding mission set up by the United Nation's top human rights body, the Human Rights Council, issued a report calling for Myanmar military leaders to be prosecuted for genocide in Rakhine.
The timing of the postponement -- just one day before the U.N. Security Council is scheduled to meet in New York to discuss Myanmar -- has spurred speculation about the decision.
Asked if the postponement may have been influenced by political considerations, Than Zaw Aung, the defense counsel for the defendants, told reporters, "Maybe yes, because there'll be a Security Council meeting tomorrow."
Speaking to reporters before being taken away in a police truck, Wa Lone said, "We will not be shaken by any situation at all as we didn't break any law. We will never bow down."
The courtroom was filled with dozens of people on Monday, including ambassadors from the United States and Europe, other Yangon-based diplomats and journalists.
Myanmar has been under increasing pressure from the United Nations and the international community over alleged atrocities committed by its security forces against the minority group in Rakhine.
According to the U.N. refugee agency, more than 720,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled from the state to neighboring Bangladesh since the latest round of violence erupted in August last year.
