The American Jewish journalist who was sentenced three days ago to 11 years in prison and burst into tears, is surprisingly released about a huge effort and makes his way through Qatar, back to the bosom of his family and the Jewish community in Detroit in the USA.
American Jewish journalist Danny Fenster was released from prison in Myanmar just three days after being sentenced to 11 years behind bars. According to the military junta, “he violated immigration and terrorism laws,” former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson confirmed.
The former US diplomat said yesterday (Monday) that Fenster had been handed over to him in Myanmar and would soon make his way home via Qatar. “This is the day you hope to come when you do this work,” Richardson told the media. “We are so grateful that Danny will finally be able to reunite with his loved ones, who have cared for him all this time.”
Richardson noted that he had been negotiating for Fenster’s release during a recent visit to Myanmar, when there were face-to-face meetings with Senior General Min Oung Helling, Myanmar’s military ruler.
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Thomas Keane, editor-in-chief of Frontier Myanmar magazine where Danny Fenster works as a journalist, welcomed his release and called on the country’s military rulers to release all journalists who are still behind bars.
Fenster is the grandson of Holocaust survivors, and was held in Insin Prison in Myanmar’s capital, Yangon. The prison is notorious for its harsh conditions, especially for political prisoners. The military has filed two additional charges against him this week, each of which carries a maximum sentence of an additional 20 years in prison. But miraculously, three days after he was sentenced to 11 years in prison, he was released.
The junta that came to power in February, after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, arrested about 80 journalists, about half of whom remained detained pending trial.
According to the Myanmar Political Prisoner Assistance Organization, which has maintained a detailed record of arrests and deaths since the military takeover, nearly 4,300 people are in custody, including 95 who have already been sentenced.
Fenster, 37, a native of the Detroit area of the United States, began surveying Myanmar in August 2020. He lives in the state of Detroit and is part of the Jewish community in the state.