Bangladesh allowed two journalists from Myanmar detained while
reporting about fleeing Rohingya Muslims to fly home on Tuesday and was
dropping charges against them, their lawyer said.
Minzayar Oo and Hkun Lat were picked up from the Cox’s Bazar region of
Bangladesh in early September because they were working as journalists
on tourist visas, police said.
They were released on bail after calls from Germany’s GEO magazine,
which had assigned Minzayar Oo to cover the influx of Rohingya refugees
from Myanmar, as well as rights groups.
“It’s so good to be free again,” Minzayar Oo, one of Myanmar’s most
prominent photographers, told Reuters soon after his plane landed in the
Thai capital of Bangkok.
Bangladesh authorities had begun the process to drop the charges against the pair, their lawyer, Jyotirmoy Barua, said.
Minzayar Oo has worked for various media outlets, covering Myanmar’s
emergence from military rule. He had previously worked as a contractor
with Reuters.
Hkun Lat is also a well-known photographer in Myanmar and has won prizes for his coverage of conflict in frontier regions.
About 582,000 refugees from Myanmar have poured into Bangladesh since
August 25, when attacks by Rohingya militants on security posts
triggered an army crackdown in response.
Source - mmtimes
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