By Nava Thakuria*
Guwahati: Sentenced for 11 years in jail following a closed door trial in Myanmar on November 12, 2021, American journalist Danny Fenster was released and deported out of the south-east Asian country today, an editor of a digital media outlet named Frontier Myanmar, said. According to him, Fenster was now on a flight out of Myanmar. There was no available information if Danny was leaving for his home country (USA).
In Washington, the Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, welcomed the release of Fenster from prison in Burma, “where he was wrongfully detained” for almost six months. Blinken commended Ambassador Tom Vajda and his team at U.S. Embassy Rangoon, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, the expertise of Consular Affairs and the dedicated partners, including Governor Bill Richardson, who helped facilitate Danny’s release.
“We are glad that Danny will soon be reunited with his family as we continue to call for the release of others who remain unjustly imprisoned in Burma,” he stated today.
The young journalist was arrested on May 24, 2021 from Yangon International Airport as he was preparing to leave Myanmar for visiting his family in Detroit, Michigan. Since then, he was imprisoned in Insein jail of Yangon, the former capital of Myanmar. The scribe, who earlier worked for Myanmar Now- now banned by the military regime- was repeatedly denied his bail.
The military court inside the infamous prison, which otherwise enjoys little liberty in the military ruled nation, pronounced the verdict on 12 November to imprison Fenster for 11 years against various charges of visa breaches, defaming the Myanmar military personnel and also joining hands with unlawful elements. Conspiracy was seemingly hatched against Danny to keep him inside bars for whole life.
Danny Fenster was the third foreign journalist to be arrested by the military junta. Earlier the military rulers detained independent scribes Robert Bociaga from Poland and Yuki Kitazumi from Japan, who were later released and subsequently deported from Myanmar. The US journalist was taken to the national capital Naypietaw from Yangon on 15 November for deportation.
Various international organizations strongly criticized the military junta for fraudulently trying to detain Fenster and demanded his immediate and unconditional release. The US State Department in a statement issued from Washington commented that Danny’s sentence is ‘an unjust conviction of an innocent person’. While condemning the decision, Washington asserted it would continue working for Danny’s release.
Geneva-based Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), the global media safety and rights body, also expressed its dismay over the imprisonment of Danny Fenster by the military court and demanded his immediate release. Blaise Lempen, general-secretary of PEC commented that The Min Aung Hlaing led military regime was trying its best to destroy the free press in Myanmar. They even dared to diktat the foreign media outlets to describe the military government properly, he added.
Speaking to this correspondent, a senior Myanmar journalist claimed that the military generals after grabbing political power on 1 February last deposing Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy government, had imprisoned over 125 journalists, who supported the anti-junta movements across Myanmar. Nearly 50 among them are still behind bars, added the journalist who wanted anonymity.
*PEC’s southeast Asia representative
