[Epoch Times November 13, 2021](Epoch Times reporter Chen Ting comprehensive report) Despite the US call for the release of American journalist Danny Fenster (Danny Fenster), the court under the Myanmar military government still sentenced him to 11 years In prison with hard labor. The US State Department strongly condemned the sentence imposed on Fenster by the Burmese regime.
This is the most severe punishment faced by the seven journalists known to have been convicted since the military overthrew the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February this year.
According to the Associated Press (link), Fenster, the editor-in-chief of the online magazine Frontier Myanmar, still faces charges of terrorism and treason. Based on these charges, he could be sentenced to life imprisonment.
On May 24, Finster was detained at Yangon International Airport when he was about to board a plane to visit his family in the Detroit area of the United States. According to reports, the trial was conducted in the Yongsheng Prison Court and was not open to the public and the media, so it is difficult for the outside world to know exactly why Fenster was convicted. Yongsheng Prison is located in Yangon Province and is notorious for holding dissidents and poor sanitary conditions.
This severe punishment indicates that the Myanmar military does not intend to bow to the sanctions imposed by the United States and other Western countries.
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement that Fenster’s sentence was “an unjust conviction of an innocent person”.
Price said: “The United States condemns this decision. We are closely monitoring Danny’s situation and continue to work towards his immediate release. We will continue to act until Danny returns safely to his family.”
Michelle Bachelet, the head of human rights at the United Nations, said Fenster’s conviction and heavy sentence “reflects the wider plight of Myanmar journalists, who have been facing constant repression since the military coup on February 1.”
The Associated Press pointed out that at least three foreign journalists from Japan, the United States and Poland have also been detained. Nathan Maung, an American journalist detained by the Myanmar military government in March this year, said he was tortured during his detention.
Bachelet said that since the military seized power, at least 126 journalists, media officials or publishers have been detained by the military, and 47 people are still detained, of which 20 have been charged with crimes.
She also said that 9 media outlets had their licenses revoked, another 20 media outlets had to suspend operations, and dozens of journalists were still hiding in various places due to arrest warrants.
According to the Political Prisoners Aid Association, Myanmar troops have killed at least 1,200 civilians and arrested about 10,000. UN experts worry that the political crisis in Myanmar may eventually lead to civil war.
Editor in charge: Ye Ziwei
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