Myanmar Supreme Court hears appeal of jailed journalists

Pan Ei Mon, wife of Reuters journalist Wa Lone, carries her baby on arrival at the Supreme Court in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, March 26, 2019. Myanmar Supreme Court is expected to rule on appeal to overturn conviction of two Reuters journalists sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of violating Myanmar’s Official Secrets Act. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Chit Su Win, wife of Reuters journalist Kyaw Soe Oo, carries her daughter on arrival at the Supreme Court in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, March 26, 2019. Myanmar Supreme Court is expected to rule on appeal to overturn conviction of two Reuters journalists sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of violating Myanmar’s Official Secrets Act. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar – Lawyers for two Reuters journalists sentenced to seven years in prison for their reporting on Myanmar's brutal crackdown on Rohingya Muslims have appealed their conviction to the country's Supreme Court.

Reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo remained in Insein Prison while their lawyers attended the court's first hearing on their final appeal on Tuesday in the capital, Naypyitaw. The prisoner's wives also came to the court hearing, bringing their young children.

The reporters' conviction for violating the country's Official Secrets Act has been condemned by rights groups, Western governments and global press associations. It also has highlighted freedom of expression problems in Myanmar, even after it transitioned from military rule to an elected government under Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.