American Journalist Danny Fenster Freed From Myanmar Prison

American journalist Danny Fenster was released from prison in Myanmar on Monday and was en route to the United States after being held since May in the wake of a violent military coup in the Southeast Asian country.

Fenster's Release Follows Friday Sentencing: The development comes just days after Fenster, 37, was sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was released into the custody of former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson, who negotiated with Myanmar’s military junta for Fenster’s release, The New York Times reported.

Fenster's family and fellow journalists mounted a campaign for his release this year using #BringDannyHome to raise awareness of his confinement.

Fenster, the editor of Frontier Myanmar, was convicted by a court in the country on the following charges, the Times said: disseminating information that could be harmful to the military, unlawful association with opponents of the regime and violating immigration law.

He was prosecuted by the country’s regime for his work with the Myanmar Now publication, which Myanmar banned. Fenster’s work with Myanmar Now ended in July 2020, the Times report said. He was arrested on May 24.

The American journalist was held at Insein Prison, known for its barbaric conditions, where he contracted COVID-19.

“We are overjoyed that Danny has been released and is on his way home - we cannot wait to hold him in our arms,” Fenster’s brother Bryan said in a statement, thanking those who helped secure his release, including Richardson.

The Backdrop In Myanmar: Daw Aaung San Suu Kyi, the civilian leader who served as Myanmar’s equivalent of a prime minister from 2016 until earlier this year, was arrested in the coup and is being tried on 10 charges. She previously was held under house arrest for about 15 years after leading an uprising against the military junta in the country formerly known as Burma.

In recent years, the Rohingya ethnic minority was driven out of Myanmar in a humanitarian crisis that saw the creation of the largest refugee camp in the world in neighboring Bangladesh.

Photo: Phyo WP via Wikimedia. An aerial view of Myanmar's Insein Prison.