An American journalist has been sentenced to 11 years in prison by a military court in Myanmar

American journalist Danny Fenster, who has been detained in Myanmar since May, has been sentenced by a military court to 11 years in prison, the media outlet he works for, Frontier Myanmar, said. "Danny Fenster has been sentenced to a total of 11 years in prison on three counts (incitement to disobedience, breach of immigration law and recommendation and gang)."

Fenster was charged earlier this week with new counts of terrorism and insurgency under the Counter-Terrorism Act and could face up to life in prison if convicted. , four months after the coup that overthrew the government of Aung San Suu Kyi and has since been held in the infamous Insein Prison.

"There is absolutely no basis for Danny to be convicted of these offenses," said Thomas Keane, editor-in-chief of the Myanmar Frontier. "Everyone at Frontier is disappointed and outraged by this decision. "We want Danny to be released as soon as possible so he can return home to his family," he said. Prior to the announcement of the conviction of the American journalist, the State Department had stated that "the deeply unjust nature of Danny's detention is clear.

The regime must make the prudent decision to set him free now. " at least 1 civilians were killed and more than 1.200 were jailed, according to the Association for Aid to Political Prisoners. The same non-governmental organization speaks of many cases of torture, rape and extrajudicial executions by the military regime.

(KYPE - ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ- AFP-Reuters / ΗΦ / ΓΒΑ)