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A Myanmar junta court on Friday sentenced an American journalist to 11 years in prison on charges of unlawful association, incitement against the military and breaching visa rules, his employer said.
The military has squeezed the press since taking power in a February coup, arresting dozens of journalists critical of its crackdown on dissent, which has killed over 1,200 people according to a local monitoring group.
Danny Fenster, who had been working for local outlet Frontier Myanmar for around a year, was arrested in May as he tried to leave the country to see his family.
“Frontier Myanmar is deeply disappointed at the decision today to convict its Managing Editor, Danny Fenster, on three charges and impose prison sentences totalling 11 years,” the outlet said in a statement.
Frontier Myanmar statement on conviction and sentencing of Danny Fenster
Frontier Myanmar is deeply disappointed at the decision today to convict its Managing Editor, Danny Fenster, on three charges and impose prison sentences totalling 11 years. 1/8
— Frontier Myanmar (@FrontierMM) November 12, 2021
Fenster, who has been held in Yangon’s Insein prison since he was detained, also faces charges of sedition and terrorism, which could see him jailed for life.
“Everyone at Frontier is disappointed and frustrated at this decision,” Frontier Myanmar said.
“We just want to see Danny released as soon as possible so he can go home to his family.”
‘Outrageous’
Crisis Group Myanmar senior advisor Richard Horsey described the sentence as “outrageous”.
“It sends a message not only to international journalists… but also Myanmar journalists that reporting factually on the situation is liable…
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Source : france24
