US journalist Danny Fenster goes home after being released from Myanmar | Freedom of the Press News

Doha, Qatar – American journalist Danny Fenster was on his way home on Monday, hours after being released from a six-month prison sentence in Myanmar, where he was sentenced last week to 11 years in prison.

Fenster, wearing a bra, shiny beard and shoes, said he felt “good” when he arrived in Doha, Qatar on a rental flight, just three days after his sentencing. He was charged with publishing false or misleading information, colluding with illegal entities and violating visa laws.

“I am very happy to be home,” he told reporters in Doha, along with former United States ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson, who discussed his release.

Fenster, who works as the editor-in-chief of Myanmar Frontier, a local online magazine, was arrested in May while trying to board a flight from Yangon to Detroit in the US.

The arrests came as Myanmar troops occupied the country in February, sparking protests and riots. To date, at least 1,265 people have been killed in the country and more than 10,000 have been arrested, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which oversees the situation.

Freedom groups say many local journalists remain in prison, as do medical workers, activists and opposition political leaders. The UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar says evidence shows that the military has committed “crimes against humanity”.

Amid the turmoil, the military ordered the Internet to be shut down, shut down satellite television, and cancel broadcasting licenses for a number of independent media organizations in Myanmar.

He accused Fenster of working for Myanmar Now, which was part of a media outlet whose licenses had been revoked.

However, Fenster left the site in June 2020 to work at Frontier Myanmar. The magazine, which commended Fenster’s release, said the court had ignored the overwhelming evidence, including tax returns, that confirmed Fenster was no longer working in Myanmar Now.

His 11-year sentence was the harshest punishment for seven journalists known to have been found guilty since the military seized power and arrested President-elect Aung San Suu Kyi.

Fenster was also charged with sedition and “terrorism”, although a new lawsuit was still pending.

On Monday, Fenster said he would work to continue exposing the plight of his fellow prisoners in the country, many of them Myanmar nationals.

“We will just look after them as best we can and do everything we can to help them,” he said. “We are still working hard and we hope we can get them out of there.”

Former Attorney General Richardson told reporters that he was able to discuss the release of Fenster on a recent trip to Myanmar when he met face-to-face with former governor Min Aung Hlaing. The march, known as a series of humanitarian activities, was criticized by some as unacceptable for the military.

However, in Doha on Monday night, Richardson, who was also New Mexico’s ambassador and secretary of state for the US, said it was a “surprise” for the military and its “efforts to work with the Myanmar government to help people, on vaccination”.

He also thanked the Qatari government, which he said supports its foundation, the Richardson Center, for its work “in liberating captives, Americans and non-Americans”.

In a statement Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also welcomed the release of Fenster.

“We continue to call for the release of some of those who have been unjustly imprisoned in Burma,” he said, referring to Myanmar and its former name.

Fenster’s family, meanwhile, said in a statement that they were “delighted that Danny has been released and is on his way home – we can’t wait for him to take us in his arms”.

Speaking in Qatar, Fenster said he “did not starve or be beaten” while in the infamous Insein prison near Yangon, saying his main concern was “to remain in good stead”.

He added: “I was arrested and put in jail for no apparent reason. “So I think (I was abused) but I was healthy.”