After being released from prison in Myanmar and flying to Qatar on Monday, following negotiations between former U.S. envoy Bill Richardson and the governing military junta, American journalist Danny Fenster said he was well and delighted to be returning home.
Three days after being sentenced to 11 years in prison for incitement and violations of immigration and unlawful assembly regulations, Fenster, the managing editor of the independent online journal Frontier Myanmar, appeared emaciated.
Fenster, 37, who had been detained since May, told reporters on the tarmac at Doha's Hamad International Airport that he was in good health and that he had not been abused or deprived of food during his incarceration.
"I feel wonderful and am delighted to be on my way home," Fenster, who was dressed in a red cap, loose-fitting slacks, and a white COVID-19 face covering, said after flying to Doha with Richardson by jet.
"You just get a bit stir crazy, and the longer it goes on, the more scared you get that it's never going to end; staying sane through it was the major issue."
When asked if he was mistreated, he replied: "I was arrested and held captive for no reason, so I suppose so. But physically, I was healthy. I was not starved or beaten."
Following pleas from Richardson and two Japanese representatives to continue the goodwill between the countries and to emphasize humanitarian grounds, Myanmar's military-owned Myawaddy TV reported that Fenster had been granted amnesty.
Hundreds of journalists have been jailed in Myanmar since a military coup on Feb. 1 this year, which sparked outrage at the military's abrupt halt to a decade of modest moves toward democracy.
Multiple media outlets have been accused by Myanmar's military of inciting violence and distributing fake information.
Richardson's travel to bring Fenster home, according to a person familiar with the situation, was planned without the knowledge of the U.S. State Department or the U.S. embassy in Yangon.
Sources said officials were initially opposed to Richardson's visit to Myanmar earlier this month and advised him not to raise the issue with Myanmar officials.
Before his release, some State Department officials were afraid that Richardson's involvement might cause the junta to view him as an asset to extract concessions, delaying his release.
Despite the fact that Richardson and his staff had been in touch with State Department officials, representative Ned Price said Monday that the former governor "was not working at the direction of the U.S. government" in Myanmar.
