Police escort detained Reuters journalist Kyaw Soe Oo

Kyaw Soe Oo ( my, ကျော်စိုးဦး) is a Myanmar

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

journalist who, with fellow reporter

Wa Lone Wa Lone ( my, ဝလုံး; born 1986) is a Reuters journalist and children's author who, with fellow reporter Kyaw Soe Oo, was arrested on 12 December 2017 in Myanmar because of their investigation into the Inn Din massacre. A police witn ...

, was arrested on 12 December 2017 in

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

because of their investigation into the Inn Din massacre. A police witness testified that their arrests were a case of entrapment. It is believed their arrests were intended to intimidate journalists. The case received international attention. During 2018, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo received a number of international awards, including being listed among ''Time'' magazine's Persons of the Year for 2018. They have been the subject of human rights appeals by Amnesty International,

PEN America PEN America (formerly PEN American Center), founded in 1922 and headquartered in New York City, is a nonprofit organization that works to defend and celebrate free expression in the United States and worldwide through the advancement of litera ...

, and Reporters Without Borders. The 2019 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize was awarded to Kyaw Soe Oo and Wa Lone on 11 April 2019 for their "courage and commitment to freedom of expression". On 16 April 2019, the two journalists were awarded the

Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting This Pulitzer Prize has been awarded since 1942 for a distinguished example of reporting on international affairs, including United Nations correspondence. In its first six years (1942–1947), it was called the Pulitzer Prize for Telegraphic R ...

. They were released on 7 May 2019 after a presidential amnesty.

Early life

Oo is from a Rakhine Buddhist family in

Sittwe Sittwe (; ; formerly Akyab) is the capital of Rakhine State, Myanmar (Burma). Sittwe, pronounced ''sait-tway'' in the Rakhine language, is located on an estuarial island created at the confluence of the Kaladan, Mayu, and Lay Mro rivers empt ...

Career

Oo began working as a journalist for Root Investigative Agency, an outlet for Rakhine news. After violence began in northern Rakhine, Oo began working for Reuters. Oo, along with fellow Reuters journalist

, was investigating the Inn Din massacre; they were arrested on 12 December 2017 and released on 7 May 2019.

Ara Darzi ARA may refer to: Media and the arts * American-Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences * '' Artistička Radna Akcija'', compilation album released in former Yugoslavia * Associate of the Royal Academy, denoting membership in the British Royal Ac ...

and

Amal Clooney Amal Clooney (; ar, أمل علم الدين; born 3 February 1978) is a Lebanese and British barrister. Her clients include Filipino and American journalist Maria Ressa; former President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed; Julian Assange, the ...

were involved in securing their release.

Inn Din massacre

Following attacks on the

Rohingya people The Rohingya people () are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar (previously known as Burma). Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an ...

Rakhine State Rakhine State (; , , ; formerly known as Arakan State) is a state in Myanmar (Burma). Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State to the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Region to the east, the Bay of Ben ...

, Myanmar, in late August 2017, and the burning of Rohingya homes in the hamlet of Inn Din, many Rohingya villagers fled to the mountains. On 1 September 2017, armed soldiers and paramilitaries detained ten Rohingya men who reportedly had gone to the beach to look for food. The next morning they were shot, killed, and buried in a

mass grave A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of execution, although an exact ...

. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were investigating the mass grave found in Inn Din. They interviewed Buddhist villagers and security personnel and gathered both verbal accounts and photographic evidence of the

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

Personal life

Oo is married to Chit Su Win. They met while she previously worked for his family. They have a daughter named Moe Thin Wai Zan.

Awards and honors

* 2018, included in ''Time'' magazine's Persons of the Year, which recognized several persecuted journalists as "guardians" in a "war on truth". The following 2018 awards were received jointly with

: * 2018, Foreign Affairs Journalism category and Global Investigation of the Year at the

British Journalism Awards British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

. * November 26, 2018, Journalists of the Year at

Foreign Press Association Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United S ...

Media Awards, London * 2018, PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write award,

& Edwin Barbey Charitable Trust * 2018, Osborn Elliot Prize for excellence in journalism, Asia Society * 2018, International Journalists of the Year, One World Media Awards * 2018, James Foley Medill Medal for Courage in Journalism, Northwestern University * 2018, Don Bolles Medal,

Investigative Reporters and Editors Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. (IRE) is a nonprofit organization that focuses on improving the quality of journalism, in particular investigative journalism. Formed in 1975, it presents the IRE Awards and holds conferences and training ...

(IRE) * 2018, Aubuchon Press Freedom Award,

National Press Club (United States) The National Press Club is a professional organization and social community in Washington, D.C. for journalists and communications professionals. It hosts public and private gatherings with invited speakers from public life. The club also offers e ...

& Journalism Institute * 2019, UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize * 2019,

References

{{Authority control Living people Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Myanmar Prisoners and detainees of Myanmar Reuters people Burmese journalists 21st-century Burmese writers 20th-century Burmese writers 20th-century Burmese people 20th-century journalists 21st-century journalists Year of birth uncertain Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting winners Burmese people of Rakhine descent People from Sittwe Burmese Buddhists George Polk Award recipients