American journalist Danny Fenster is sentenced to 11 years in prison in Myanmar

An American journalist detained since May in Myanmar He was sentenced this Friday to eleven years in prison by the military junta, which has suffocated the press since the February coup in that Southeast Asian country.

“Danny window he was sentenced to 11 years in detention for inciting dissent, illegal association and violation of the visa law “, his lawyer Than Zaw Aung told AFP, adding that his client has not yet decided whether to appeal the ruling.

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The reporter, locked up in a military junta jail in Rangoon, was also charged two days ago with terrorism and sedition, charges that can carry him a life sentence.

window is the first Western journalist arrested in many years in Myanmar, where the military seized power in February overthrowing the civilian government led de facto by Aung San Suu Kyi.

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The outlet for which he worked, Frontier Myanmar, stated in a statement that it was “deeply disappointed “ for the decision made in a closed-door trial in prison.

“We just want to see Danny free as soon as possible so he can go home to his family.”added.

The 37-year-old had been working for Frontier Myanmar since mid-2020 and covered the military coup and subsequent crackdown on dissent. Aung San Suu Kyi is currently under house arrest and is on trial for a number of crimes.

At the time of his arrest, at the Yangon International Airport on May 24, Fenster was preparing to catch a plane to depart from Myanmar.

The journalist, who contracted COVID-19 in detention according to his family, lost a lot of weight, his lawyer said.

“Scandalous” sentence

This ruling is “scandalous and unacceptable … the accusations were completely fabricated,” said Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia department.

“Send a message not only to international journalists … but also to Burmese that reporting the situation can mean many years in prison,” Crisis Group Myanmar consultant Richard Horsey told AFP.

“This regime does not respect any rules. He is determined to do what he wants ”, Horsey lamented. For him, the journalist’s conviction is “a great setback for US diplomacy” that has made many efforts for his release.

Indeed, the conviction comes just days after a meeting between former US diplomat Bill Richardson and Burmese junta leader Ming Aung Hlaing. Both politicians tried to deliver medical supplies and vaccines against covid-19.

Richardson stated that the US State Department had asked him not to mention the journalist’s case during the meeting. He offered no further details.

Myanmar It has been plunged into chaos and instability since the February coup, after which the military launched a heavy crackdown with more than 1,200 people killed, according to a local NGO.

The press has also suffered the consequences of this repression, with greater control of information by the board, limited internet access and a revocation of some licenses to local media.

More than 100 journalists have been detained since the coup against Suu Kyi, according to Reporting ASEAN, a rights association, which indicates that 31 are still in detention.

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Deshawn