YANGON: Two Reuters journalists have been arrested in Myanmar for the possession of “important security documents”, the government said on Wednesday.

Myanmar reporters Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, had been missing since Tuesday evening, the news agency had earlier said.

The pair were arrested under the Official Secrets Act, for allegedly intending “to send important security documents regarding security forces in Rakhine State to foreign agencies abroad,” the statement released by the information ministry said.

Rakhine has been in the international spotlight after a brutal, military-led crackdown forced more than 620,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee the state and cross the border to Bangladesh since August.

A photo showed the handcuffed reporters with documents displayed before them.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2017