More than 500 days in prison: For journalists jailed in Myanmar, a long fight for freedom

Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo (partially obscured) walk free outside Insein prison after receiving a presidential pardon in Yangon, Myanmar, May 7, 2019. REUTERS/Ann Wang

YANGON (Reuters) - Convicted of breaking Myanmar's Official Secrets Act, Reuters journalists Wa Lone, 33, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 29, had spent more than 500 days in jail when they were freed on Tuesday.

They had been convicted in September and sentenced to seven years in jail, in a case that raised questions about Myanmar's progress toward democracy and sparked an outcry from diplomats and human rights advocates.