Burma: Washington calls for the release of an American journalist indicted for terrorism

Published on : 11/10/2021 – 4:45 PM

The United States called on Burma on Wednesday 10 November to release American journalist Danny Fenster “immediately”. The man, arrested in May, is now liable to life imprisonment after a new indictment of terrorism and sedition.

“Danny should be released immediately. His continued detention is unacceptable. Journalism is not a crime,” said a spokesperson for US diplomacy. Claiming to be “aware” of the new charges against Danny Fenster, he denounced “the deeply unfair nature” of this detention.

The journalist, who was arrested while trying to leave the country in May and was already being prosecuted for inciting dissent, illegal association and for violating immigration law, is now targeted by these two new heads of government. charges of terrorism and sedition, his lawyer Than Zaw Aung told AFP on Wednesday.

A conviction in Burma under anti-terrorism law carries a sentence of up to life in prison.

US hostage negotiator sent to Yangon

“He has become very skinny,” Than Zaw Aung said of his 37-year-old client, adding that he was “disappointed” to be targeted by the new charges.

They come days after former US diplomat and hostage negotiator Bill Richardson met junta leader Min Aung Hlaing in the capital Naypyidaw. The two men discussed the delivery of Covid-19 vaccines and medical equipment, according to the military. But Bill Richardson declined to give more details about his visit to Burma.

She did not say whether the case of Danny Fenster was brought up by Bill Richardson, who has been involved in negotiations for the release of American hostages around the world in the past.

A strangled press

“Danny’s case has become emblematic of the total disregard that the Burmese military has for the independent media,” Emerlynne Gil, deputy regional director for research at Amnesty International, said in a statement. “These harsh new charges only further underscore the clumsy attempt to prosecute a freelance journalist who should be released immediately and unconditionally so that he can reunite with family and friends.”

The journalist is said to have contracted Covid-19 while in detention, family members said during a conference call with American journalists in August.

Burma has sunk into chaos since the February 1 military coup, which ended a brief 10-year democratic hiatus. The press is strangled by the junta, which tries to strengthen its control of information, limiting Internet access and revoking media licenses.

Several journalists critical of the military government were among those released last month, however, in an amnesty granted by the junta on the occasion of a Buddhist festival. More than 100 journalists have been arrested since the putsch, according to Reporting ASEAN, an association for the defense of rights, which indicates that 31 of them are still in detention.

With AFP