Bangkok, May 24, 2021 – In response to reports that Myanmar authorities detained Danny Fenster, a U.S. citizen and the managing editor of Frontier Myanmar, at Yangon International Airport today before he boarded an international flight, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement:
“Myanmar authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Frontier Myanmar managing editor Danny Fenster and allow him to travel freely outside the country,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “This unlawful restriction of a foreign journalist’s freedom of movement is the latest grave threat to press freedom in Myanmar.”
Authorities detained Fenster at the airport and transferred him to Yangon’s Insein Prison, according to a statement shared on social media by his employer. The statement said that Frontier Myanmar, an independent magazine and website that covers politics in the country, had been unable to contact Fenster and did not know why he was detained. The magazine’s chief executive and founder, Sonny Swe, told CPJ via messaging app that the U.S. Embassy was aware of Fenster’s arrest and was working on his case.