Naypyitaw: US journalist Danny Fenster, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison by a Myanmar military court, was released on Monday, according to former US diplomat Bill Richardson.
In a statement, Richardson, the former governor of New Mexico, said he and his center were “thrilled to announce the release of American journalist Danny Fenster from prison in Myanmar,” reported The Washington Post. Fenster’s release, the statement added, was “secured following a private humanitarian visit by Governor Richardson to Myanmar and face-to-face negotiations with General Min Aung Hlaing,” the commander in chief of Myanmar’s military.
Fenster will be flying from Myanmar through Qatar before arriving home, reported The Washington Post.
He was held since May 2021 in a Myanmar jail on charges including visa breaches, unlawful association with an illegal group and incitement that was widely condemned by press advocates and the US government.
Fenster, a 37-year-old Detroit native, was the managing editor of Frontier Myanmar magazine. He was seized in May at Yangon International Airport as he tried to board a flight to Kuala Lumpur and was taken to Insein Prison, the company said in a statement late Monday.
The prison is notorious for its poor conditions and has been used by Myanmar’s military government to hold scores of political prisoners since the coup, reported The Washington Post.
Min Aung Hlaing took over as Myanmar’s leader after ousting the democratically-elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup in February.
