A Reuters investigation into the killing of Rohingya Muslims in Burma prompted demands from the US State Department for a credible investigation into the bloodshed there and calls for the release of two journalists who were arrested while working on the report.

The prominent Rakhine nationalist politician Aye Maung was arrested on Thursday and is facing criminal prosecution after he gave a speech in which, according to state media, he “urged the people to take advantage of the weakness of the government and to march towards the goal of sovereignty.”

A longtime former Reuters correspondent has been appointed as Burma’s deputy information minister in an awkwardly timed career move, given that two of the international news agency’s Burmese reporters are currently on trial for what their boss has called “a blatant attack on press freedom.”

The former governor of the US state of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, says he will work toward securing the release of two Reuters journalists arrested in Burma in his capacity as a member of an international advisory board on the crisis in Rakhine State.

The case of two Reuters journalists begins in earnest at a Yangon court, with the prosecution confirming that charges under Burma’s Official Secrets Act are being brought against them.

Rohingya Muslim insurgents say they have no option but to fight what they call Burma state-sponsored terrorism to defend the Rohingya community, and they demand that the Rohingya be consulted on all decisions affecting their future.