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US spokesman says detention of American journalist Danny Fenster ‘unjust’

November 6, 2021/in News

A US government official claims his country is pressing the Myanmar junta over the continued detention of American journalist Danny Fenster after he was hit with a third charge this week. In Washington, State Department spokesman Ned Price called Fenster’s detention “a sad reminder of the continuing human rights and humanitarian crisis facing the country.” […]

Arrested for leaving home without a smartphone: Soldiers levy ludicrous charges in Ayeyarwady

November 5, 2021/in News

Tensions are running high in Ayeyarwady’s capital. After a string of assassinations, junta authorities recently put Pathein under martial law, imposing a curfew and tightening security checks for those moving around the city. In the midst of this, residents of Ayeyarwaddy Region are reporting being fined—or abducted—on grounds that reach across the spectrum of possibility. […]

US spokesman says detention of American journalist Danny Fenster ‘unjust’

November 6, 2021/in News

Arrested for leaving home without a smartphone: Soldiers levy ludicrous charges in Ayeyarwady

November 5, 2021/in News

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US spokesman says detention of American journalist Danny Fenster ‘unjust’

November 6, 2021/in News

A US government official claims his country is pressing the Myanmar junta over the continued detention of American journalist Danny Fenster after he was hit with a third charge this week.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Ned Price called Fenster’s detention “a sad reminder of the continuing human rights and humanitarian crisis facing the country.”

“The profoundly unjust nature of Danny’s detention is plain for all the world to see and these charges only put a further spotlight on that,” Price told reporters.

“We’re continuing to press the Burmese regime to release Danny immediately,” he said.

On Wednesday, Fenster was denied bail and charged with allegedly breaking immigration law. He is on trial for allegedly encouraging dissent against the military and unlawful association, and faces six years in jail if convicted on both counts.

Fenster, managing editor of Frontier Myanmar, was arrested on his way to Yangon International Airport in May as he attempted to leave the country.

At his latest hearing inside Yangon’s Insein prison on Wednesday, “he was told another charge was added” for allegedly breaching immigration law, his lawyer Than Zaw Aung told AFP.

The charge carries a maximum of five years in jail, he said.

“We do not know the exact reason for adding (the) immigration charge,” he said, adding Fenster’s visa was still valid when he was detained.

The new charge came after former US diplomat and hostage negotiator Bill Richardson met junta chief Min Aung Hlaing in the capital Naypyidaw, handing the increasingly isolated junta some rare publicity.

Both the State Department and Richardson’s organisation said he was on a private mission.

Concluding the trip, the former governor of New Mexico said in a statement he had secured the release of another prisoner, Aye Moe, who used to work for the Richardson Center on women’s empowerment.

No mention was publicly made of American journalist Fenster.

Richardson said he was looking to arrange the delivery of Covid-19 vaccines through the international Covax alliance.

“I think it will open the door to the resumption of childhood immunizations and other critical health interventions. UN agencies will be key to finalising a deal,” Richardson said.

Richardson has previously negotiated the release of prisoners and US servicemen in North Korea, Cuba, Iraq and Sudan and has recently sought to free US-affiliated inmates in Venezuela.

Fenster, 37, “is in good health physically but he’s upset because of increased charges”, Than Zaw Aung said.

He is believed to have contracted Covid-19 during his detention, family members said during a conference call with American journalists in August.

The press has also been squeezed as the junta tries to tighten control over the flow of information, throttling internet access and revoking the licences of local media outlets.

AFP/Mizzima

Arrested for leaving home without a smartphone: Soldiers levy ludicrous charges in Ayeyarwady

November 5, 2021/in News

In the midst of this, residents of Ayeyarwaddy Region are reporting being fined—or abducted—on grounds that reach across the spectrum of possibility.

Since the lockdown, soldiers—increasingly paranoiac in their search for those sympathetic to the region’s PDF—have begun fining residents on increasingly asinine charges. DVB has seen reports of citizens being fined for having dark skin or scars, walking the opposite direction on a one-way street, and even for not wearing shoes.

Residents from Mawlamyine Island, Bogale, Maubin, and Pathein told DVB that, amongst implausible charges, civilians had been fined K500 for wearing face masks in public, while others had been fined up to K5,000 for carrying no phone—or, indeed, for being in possession of a keyboard phone lacking internet capabilities.

“Because people are being censored, those who do not want to be harassed by the military are increasingly using keyboard phones,” a source told DVB, adding that, in Pathein, soldiers had been enforcing such fines as early as late October. “Locals say that since then, junta soldiers have also fined those using keyboard phones.”

Random spot checks of soldiers thumbing through smartphones are a common sight in post-coup Burma. To circumvent the military’s gaze, citizens have taken to carrying burner phones, more often than not fitted with fake social media accounts; necessary when having a NUG photo frame across your profile picture is enough to send you to jail.

Never to be outfoxed, the military has simply begun arresting in lieu of evidence, hoping that a confession will be gained after the event. DVB has received reports of arrests for those accused of “walking in cordoned off zones without access to a Facebook account”, as well as those merely suspected of communicating with NUG and PDF supporters. However, as the military no longer needs to make a case before taking people into custody, it is difficult to know with certainty on what basis its arrests are made.

“Locals were arrested at the scene and taken to a military interrogation center where they were tortured and beaten until [the military] found out what they wanted to know,” the source said. “Locals say they have been forced to jump like frogs and do squats, even if the information they have provided is correct. They have been detained without charge by military informants.”

DVB News

Spring Revolution

Civil Society Position Paper on ASEAN’s Goal of a Myanmar-Owned and -Led SolutionDecember 18, 2024 - 12:11 pm
Recommendations to ASEAN and Its Member States (1) Move beyond the 5PC to achieve a Myanmar people-led and people-centered solution to the crisis in Myanmar. ASEAN’s “Myanmar-owned and -led” approach must be backed by genuine political will that aligns with and supports the collective aspirations of the people of Myanmar. (2) Cease all pressure on […]
The Airstrikes after the journey to the China of the Junta Military LeaderDecember 10, 2024 - 1:28 pm
Operation 1027 was a coordinated military attack against the junta on October 27th, 2023. It was carried out by the Northern Brotherhood, which includes the Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army. Several months later, the Three Brotherhood Alliance held three meetings to negotiate with China on January 11 […]
Human Rights Situation weekly update (September 15 to 21, 2024)September 27, 2024 - 8:26 am
Human Rights Violations took place in States and Regions from Sep 15 to 21, 2024 Military Junta Troop launched airstrikes and dropped bombs in Sagaing Region, Mandalay Region, Shan State, Chin State, Rakhine State, and Kachin State from September 15th to 21st. The Military Junta committed arresting, occupying the properties, threatening by using power, and […]

Multimedia

GenocideSeptember 2, 2025 - 9:42 am
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အတိတ်မှ ဆိုးရွားသည့် အကြီးအကျယ် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများ ထပ်မံမဖြစ်ပွားစေရေးအ တွက် အာမခံခြင်း (Guarantees of non-recurrence)February 10, 2025 - 9:58 am

ND Burma

ND-Burma formed in 2004 in order to provide a way for Burma human rights organizations to collaborate on the human rights documentation process. The 13 ND-Burma member organizations seek to collectively use the truth of what communities in Burma have endured to advocate for justice for victims. ND-Burma trains local organizations in human rights documentation; coordinates members’ input into a common database using Martus, a secure open-source software; and engages in joint-advocacy campaigns.

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ND Burma

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