American Journalist Locked Up for 11 Years for Reporting on Myanmar’s Bloody Coup

An American journalist who was arrested while trying to travel home to Detroit from Myanmar has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for reporting on the nation’s violent military coup this year. Danny Fenster, 37, was the managing editor of online news site Frontier Myanmar and previously worked for Myanmar Now—an independent site that criticized the Feb. 1 government takeover by the military. On Friday, Fenster’s lawyer said he’d been found guilty of incitement for allegedly spreading false or inflammatory information, contacting illegal organizations and breaking visa regulations. Thomas Kean, Frontier Myanmar’s editor in chief, said: “There is absolutely no basis to convict Danny of these charges... Everyone at Frontier is disappointed and frustrated at this decision. We just want to see Danny released as soon as possible so he can go home to his family.” The U.S. State Department described the charges against Fenster as “profoundly unjust.”