Five Burmese newspaper staff who were sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labour have had their sentences reduced to seven years' imprisonment.
Unity Journal's chief executive, Tin Hsan, and four journalists - Lu Maw Naing, Sithu Soe, The Yazar Oo and Aung Thura - were convicted of disclosing state secrets in a story published in January that revealed the existence of a chemical weapons factory.
They were found guilty on 10 July of breaching Burma's 1923 colonial-era Official Secrets Act, trespassing in a restricted area and taking photos of a defence ministry facility without permission.
The government denied that the military facility was making chemical weapons. But the sentencing of the Unity Journal five was condemned by the Committee to Protect Journalists (here), Amnesty International (here) and the New York Times (here).
At the time, there were also some criticisms of the paper's editorial ethics (see here).
Sources: IFEX/Global Voices/The Interpreter
