Two Myanmar journalists arrested in Bangladesh

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 16 September 2017

Two Myanmar journalists were arrested in Bangladesh while reporting on the Rohingya crisis. They are accused of violating immigration laws and face potential jail time.

Summary

A German magazine says two journalists from Myanmar who were covering the flight of ethnic Rohingya to Bangladesh have been detained by Bangladeshi police for the past week.

GEO magazine said photographer Minzayar Oo and his assistant, Hkun Lat, have been denied bail since being detained on September 7.

Cox's Bazar police chief Ranajit Barua confirmed the arrests and said the two had violated immigration rules by entering Bangladesh on tourist visas and working as journalists. He described them as acting against Bangladesh's interests and said they face up to seven years in jail if found guilty.

GEO said its editorial board was deeply concerned about the two journalists' continued detention.

It said Minzayar Oo is an award-winning photographer whose work has been published widely.

Nearly 400,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled from violence in Buddhist-majority Myanmar to Bangladesh in the past three weeks. - AP

KEY POINTS:

• Two journalists detained in Bangladesh since September 7.
• They entered the country on tourist visas but worked as journalists.
• Cox's Bazar police confirmed their arrests and described actions against national interests.
• They face up to seven years in prison if convicted.
• GEO magazine expressed deep concern over their detention.