Bangkok, Nov 12: A court in military-ruled Myanmar on Friday sentenced detained US journalist Danny Fenster to 11 years in prison after finding him guilty on several charges, including incitement for allegedly spreading false or inflammatory information.
Fenster, the managing editor of the online magazine Frontier Myanmar, was also found guilty of contacting illegal organisations and violating visa regulations, lawyer Than Zaw Aung said. He was sentenced to the maximum term on each charge.
Fenster has been detained since May. He still faces two additional charges in a different court for allegedly violating the counterterrorism law and a statute covering treason and sedition.
“Everyone at Frontier is disappointed and frustrated at this decision. We just want to see Danny released as soon as possible so he can go home to his family,” Editor-in-Chief Thomas Kean said in a statement after the sentencing.
Fenster was detained at Yangon International Airport on May 24 as he was about to board a flight to go to the Detroit area in the United States to see his family.
He is the only foreign journalist to be convicted of a serious crime since the army seized power in February, ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Despite testimony from more than a dozen prosecution witnesses, it was never clear what Fenster was alleged to have done. Much of the prosecution’s case appeared to hinge on his being employed by one of the media outlets, Myanmar Now, that had been ordered closed this year.
But Fenster had left his job at Myanmar Now in July last year, joining Frontier Myanmar the following month.
The military-installed government has cracked down hard on press freedom, shutting virtually all critical outlets and arresting about 100 journalists, roughly 30 of whom remain in jail.
Some of the closed outlets have continued operating without a license, publishing online as their staff members dodge arrest.
The army takeover was met by widespread peaceful protests that were put down with lethal force. (AP)
