Jailed Reuters journalists appeal to Myanmar's top court as rights group decries 'fear'

FILE PHOTO: Reuters journalist Wa Lone arrives at Insein court in Yangon, Myanmar September 3, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang

YANGON (Reuters) - Lawyers for two Reuters reporters jailed in Myanmar for breaking a colonial-era official secrets law appealed to the Supreme Court on Friday against their conviction, as a rights group said the government wielded repressive laws against peaceful critics.

The appeal, citing evidence of a police set-up and lack of proof of a crime, came as New York-based Human Rights Watch said Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's government had dashed hopes for Myanmar's first democratic leader in decades to protect free speech.