Myanmar charges American journalist Danny Fenster with terrorism, sedition

An American journalist who was arrested in Myanmar’s Yangon in May was slapped with two new charges on Tuesday, according to a report by the New York Times. Danny Fenster, managing editor of Frontier Myanmar, now faces charges of sedition and terrorism, both of which carry sentences of 20 years each.

A report by CNN Business said Fenster “faces a total of five separate charges including visa breaches, unlawful association with an illegal group and incitement under section 505a of Myanmar's penal code, which makes it a crime to publish or circulate comments that ‘cause fear’ or spread ‘false news’.”

Fenster was first detained from Yangon’s international airport while boarding a flight to leave the country. Al Jazeera noted that it “remains unclear what exactly he is accused of doing”. He is currently being held at Yangon's Insein prison.

His lawyer, Than Zaw Aung, told Reuters, “We don't understand why they added more charges but it is definitely not good that they are adding charges.”

Since the military coup in Myanmar in February, several journalists critical of the military government have been detained.