US journalist ‘pardoned’ before being deported from Myanmar — junta

YANGON, Myanmar — US journalist Danny Fenster was “pardoned” before being deported from Myanmar where he had been sentenced to 11 years in jail and was to face further terror and sedition charges, the junta said Monday.اضافة اعلان

Fenster was pardoned before his release on “humanitarian grounds” following negotiations with former US top diplomat Bill Richardson and two Japanese envoys, the junta’s information team said in a statement.

Photos released by the information team showed Fenster, flanked by two Myanmar military officials, signing a document in capital Naypyidaw, where he later boarded a flight to leave the country.

The US welcomed his release, saying he had been “wrongfully detained.”
“We are glad that Danny will soon be reunited with his family as we continue to call for the release of others who remain unjustly imprisoned in Burma,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, using Myanmar’s former name.

Fenster, who spent 176 days in detention, was sentenced to 11 years in prison last week for encouraging dissent against the military, unlawful association and breaching immigration laws.

The 37-year-old was due to go on trial Tuesday on charges of terrorism and sedition, which could have seen him jailed for life.


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