Washington, D.C., November 15, 2021—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the news that U.S. journalist Danny Fenster was released from prison in Myanmar today and has left the country.
“The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of American journalist Danny Fenster from prison in Myanmar, where he has been unjustly held for nearly six months,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Myanmar authorities should follow this gesture with the immediate release of the dozens of other journalists held in prison merely for doing their job of reporting the news.”
On November 12, Fenster was convicted on multiple charges of incitement, unlawful association, and visa violations, and sentenced to 11 years in prison, as CPJ reported. Bill Richardson, a former New Mexico governor and U.S. ambassador to the U.N., helped negotiate Fenster’s release, according to news reports.