MYANMAR (WWJ) -- The metro Detroit journalist Danny Fenster has been released from a Myanmar prison on Monday, according to the former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Bill Richardson who helped secure his freedom.
Starting Monday, Fenster, the managing editor of Frontier Myanmar and Huntington Woods native, -- along with Richardson’s team -- will be making their journey home over the next day and a half. The Richardson Center for Global Engagement said their team is looking forward to uniting Danny with his parents, Buddy and Rose, as well as his brother Bryan, in Michigan.
According to The Richardson Center, Richardson was able to secure Fenster’s release by making a private humanitarian visit to Myanmar and having face-to-face negotiations with General Min Aung Hlain, Myanmar’s Commander-in-Chief.
“This is the day that you hope will come when you do this work,” said Richardson.
Richardson was not alone in his mission, though. Former U.S.
Ambassador Cameron Hume, Richardson Center Vice President and Executive Director Mickey Bergman and Richardson Center Senior Advisor and Program Director Steve Ross assisted in the release.
In a statement, The editor-in-chief of Frontier Myanmar, Thomas Kean, said he is relieved Danny is finally out of prison, but he also recognizes Fenster is just one of many journalists in the military-controlled country who have been “unjustly arrested for simply doing their jobs” since the February coup.
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“We call on the military regime to release all of the journalists who remain behind bars in Myanmar,” said Kean.
Danny was arrested on May 24, 2021 at Yangon International Airport shortly before he was due to board a flight to Malaysia. On Nov. 12 he was convicted of three offenses following a short trial and received a prison sentence totaling 11 years.
The prosecution alleged that he was working for the news agency, Myanmar Now, despite the fact he resigned in Jul. 2020 and joined Frontier the following month.
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