The American journalist Danny Fenster has been freed from prison in Myanmar after he was sentenced to 11 years of labor.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson issued a statement on Monday, announcing that Fenster had been handed over in Myanmar by authorities and that he would return to the U.S. via Qatar shortly.
“This is the day that you hope will come when you do this work,” Richardson said in a statement emailed to the Associated Press. “We are so grateful that Danny will finally be able to reconnect with his loved ones, who have been advocating for him all this time, against immense odds.”
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The former ambassador said he negotiated Fenster’s release during his recent visit to Myanmar, where he addressed Myanmar’s military ruler, Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, face to face.
Fenster is the managing editor of Frontier Myanmar, which he joined in 2020.
The Myanmar government convicted Fenster for spreading false or inflammatory information, contacting illegal organizations, and violating visa regulations. The editor was detained after he attempted to escape the country in May.
He would have spent 11 years doing hard labor if not for Richardson’s intervention.
Frontier Myanmar CEO Sonny Swe confirmed on Twitter that Fenster is out.
Great news. I heard @DannyFenster is out.
— swe_sonny (@swe_sonny) November 15, 2021
According to the U.N. Human Rights Council, the Myanmar military has detained at least 126 journalists, media officials, or publishers. At least 47 of them remain in detention, including 20 charged with crimes. At least seven journalists have been convicted, although four were released in a mass amnesty on Oct. 21.
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Richardson has been involved in Myanmar’s politics for several years. He met with the previous leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, in 1994 while she was placed under house arrest by a separate military government.
Richardson told Associated Press that he is currently working with the local government to facilitate humanitarian assistance and provide vaccines where necessary.
