A military court in Myanmar this Friday sentenced American journalist Danny Fenster to 11 years in prison.
Fenster was found guilty of violation of immigration law, conspiracy and encouraging the Dissidence against the military.
Earlier this week he was indicted with two other charges, which include sedition and terrorism, which would imply a maximum sentence of life sentence .
Will be processed for these new charges from next 16 of November.
Who is this journalist?
Fenster, from 37 years, he was the editor of the Frontier Myanmar online site. He was arrested last May at Yangon International Airport.
He is one of the dozens of local journalists who have been detained since the military coup in Myanmar occurred in February this year.
According to Frontier, Fenster had previously worked for Myanmar Now, an independent news site that has been critical of the military since the coup.
“The charges were based on allegations that he worked for the banned outlet Myanmar Now. Danny had resigned from Myanmar Now in July 2020 and he joined Frontier the following month. At the time of his arrest, in May 2021, I had been working with Frontier for more than nine months “, Frontier communicated.
” There is no basis to try Danny on these charges. “
His sentence this Friday comes months after the arrest of a Japanese independent journalist in Myanmar, who was accused of spreading news
Yuki Kitazumi, who works for many of the major news outlets in Japan, was one of the few foreign reporters in the country.
Myanmar authorities maintain that Kitazumi violated the law, but released him after Japan requested it.
Analysis
Jonathan Head – BBC Southeast Asia Correspondent
Danny Fenster’s trial took place behind closed doors, literally, inside Insein prison, where he and many other detainees have been held captive since the coup in February.
We only know what His lawyers tell us about the procedure.
However, the charges that the military hold against Fenster are clearly absurd.
The prosecutor claimed they are related to his employment at the independent news site Myanmar Now, one of the five media organizations that the military attacked after the coup and they canceled their licenses to disclose.
But Danny Fenster left Myanmar Now in July of 2020 and joined Frontier magazine.
Sus The lawyers made this clear in court in a documented way, but this evidence was ignored by the judge , who granted the maximum sentence for the three charges against him.
But why is the military junta going after an American journalist in this way, even adding more serious crimes to him this week?
The Biden administration has increased pressure on the regime , in particular through sanctions against officials high-profile military officers, calling for the restoration of the elected government.
It is difficult to see the United States soften its stance to try remove Fenster from the country.
Perhaps the military is waiting for a gesture, a photo with a US official, to consider that it would be worth releasing the journalist.
It also sends a chilling message to all journalists in Myanmar. If they are willing to snub a superpower like the United States and take one of its citizens hostage, the treatment of local journalists can be even harsher.
As is always the case with Myanmar generals, their true motives are hard to guess.
International pressure
The United States has lobbied the military junta to release Fenster.
In a statement before the sentence was known, the US State Department said that “the deeply unjust nature of Danny’s arrest is obvious to everyone . The regime should take the prudent step of releasing him now ”
However, there has been no pronouncement after the sentence.
Phil Robertson, Asia deputy director for Humans Right Watch, told the BBC that the verdict had been “a parody of justice” intended to intimidate all journalists who continue to work. in Myanmar.
The blow that unleashed the sentence
Myanmar’s military leaders seized power in February after being massively defeated in elections by the National League for Democracy, then the ruling party.
The board claims that they had no choice but to orchestrate the coup due to widespread fraud in the elections, despite the fact that it com electoral ision ensures that there is no evidence to prove such claim.
The coup caused large civil protests throughout the country that were dispersed by the military employing brutal force.
Since then, at least 1, 178 people have been killed and 7, 178 arrested, charged and sentenced in a campaign against dissent, according to the Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners (AAPP).
About 50 journalists have been detained for carrying out their work. According to AAPP, 50 of them are still in detention and half have been prosecuted.
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