Danny Fenster, an American journalist who was arrested in May as he prepared to leave Myanmar, was ordered Monday to remain in prison as police investigate a vague accusation that he disseminated information that could be harmful to the military.
The court hearing marked his 120th day in custody. Fenster is the only American known to be under arrest in Myanmar, and has become an international symbol of the military junta’s crackdown on free expression.
No formal charge has been filed against the Detroit native. No evidence has been presented against him at any of his eight court appearances, which are conducted by video and last only a few minutes. He is not permitted to speak or ask questions and has rarely met with his attorney since his arrest on May 24.
Fenster, the managing editor of Frontier Myanmar magazine, is accused of disseminating information that might induce military officers to disregard or fail in their duties, a charge often brought against journalists in the Southeast Asian nation. He faces three years in prison.
The Biden administration, Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Frontier Myanmar and Fenster’s family have called for his release.
“The detention of Danny Fenster and other journalists constitutes an unacceptable attack on freedom of expression in Burma,” state department spokesman Ned Price said earlier this month, using the country’s former name. “We continue to press Burma’s military regime to release Danny immediately.”
Myanmar’s military, which had shared power with civilian governments for a decade, seized control in a February 1 coup, triggering widespread street protests and a nationwide general strike. Troops and the police have killed more than 1,100 people and imprisoned 6,600, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an advocacy group.
The junta has arrested more than 100 journalists since February, and 47 remain in custody, according to a media group that is tracking arrests. Four of those arrested have been foreign journalists: two from the US, one from Japan and one from Poland.
All but Fenster have been deported, including Nathan Maung, an American citizen and co-founder of Kamayut Media, an online news site. While in custody, Maung and his co-founder, Hanthar Nyein, were severely beaten, burned and forced to kneel on ice with their hands cuffed behind them, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Fenster and his wife, Juliana, had been married less than seven weeks when he was arrested at Yangon International Airport as he prepared to leave the country. She has remained in Myanmar to work for his release but has been given limited access to him.
Fenster is being held at the notorious Insein Prison. Covid-19 swept through the institution earlier this year, and Fenster appears to have caught it. He lost his sense of taste and smell and suffered chest congestion, among other symptoms, but was never tested. He has since largely recovered, his family said.
He has seldom been allowed to have visitors and his communications with family and the US embassy have been limited.
His lawyer, U Than Zaw Aung, said he last met his client in person on July 15 and that Fenster has never received a Covid vaccine.
During Monday’s video hearing, Fenster looked tired, the lawyer said.
New York Times News Service
