Burma: American journalist sentenced to 11 years in prison

Published on : 11/12/2021 – 08:18

The American journalist Danny Fenster was sentenced to 11 years in prison by the Burmese justice on three counts, said Friday (November 12th) his employer, the media Frontier Myanmar. Detained since May by the junta in Burma, he was also charged with terrorism and sedition on Wednesday in another case, this time facing life imprisonment if convicted.

“Frontier Myanmar is deeply disappointed with today’s decision to sentence its editor-in-chief Danny Fenster on three counts (incitement to dissent, illegal association, violation of immigration law) to prison terms with a total duration of 11 years, “the outlet said in a statement.

His trial is being held behind closed doors within the confines of the penitentiary establishment.

On Wednesday, the United States called on Burma to release Danny Fenster “immediately”. “His continued detention is unacceptable. Journalism is not a crime,” responded a spokesman for American diplomacy.

Arrested while trying to leave Burma in May, the journalist is also targeted by “two counts under Article 50 (a) of the Anti-Terrorism Law and Article 124 (a) of the penal code, “his lawyer Than Zaw Aung told AFP on Wednesday when the new charges were announced.

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

37-year-old Danny Fenster is being held at Insein prison near Yangon. “He got very thin,” Than Zaw Aung said. The lawyer added that the journalist was “disappointed” to be targeted by the new charges, which were filed on Tuesday.

A strangled press

“Danny’s case has become emblematic of the total disregard that the Burmese military has for the independent media,” Emerlynne Gil, an Amnesty International regional official, 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 may 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 military putsch of 1^er February which ended a ten-year democratic parenthesis.

The regime continues a bloody crackdown on its opponents with more than 1,200 civilians killed and more than 7,000 in detention, according to the Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners (AAPP). This local NGO reports cases of torture, rape and extrajudicial executions.

The press is strangled by the junta, which tries to strengthen its control of information, limiting access to the Internet and canceling media licenses.

Several journalists critical of the military government were among those released last month in a junta amnesty granted at 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 points out that 31 of them are still in detention.

With AFP