jpnn.com, MYANMAR - A Myanmar military court on Friday sentenced detained American journalist Danny Fenster to 11 years in prison, lawyers and the company for which the lawyers work said.
The court ruling is a blow to efforts by the United States to free Fenster.
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Fenster (37) is the managing editor of online magazine Frontier Myanmar, one of the country's leading independent media outlets.
He was among others found guilty of sedition and immigration violations, the magazine said.
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Frontier Myanmar considers the court's decision to be "the most severe of all".
"There is absolutely no basis to convict Danny of these charges," Thomas Kean, editor-in-chief of Frontier Myanmar.
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"Everyone at Frontier is disappointed and frustrated by this decision. We just want Danny to be released as soon as possible, so he can go home to his family."
Fenster was arrested when he tried to leave Myanmar in May. Since then, he has been held at the Insen prison in Yangon.
He was charged in early November with several serious offenses, namely inciting and violating the law on terrorism.
For some of the charges, Fenster faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years each.
There was no explanation from the authorities regarding the violations in question.
Fenster is the first Western journalist to be imprisoned in Myanmar in recent years.
The country was hit on February 1 by a military coup against the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The power struggle also stops the steps that have been taken so far to create a democratic Myanmar.
Fenster is among dozens of journalists detained in Myanmar after a series of protests and strikes culminated in the aftermath of the coup. The junta accused independent media of sedition.
The US had previously urged Myanmar authorities to release Fenster. (ant/dil/mcr20/jpnn)
This news has been broadcast on JPNN.com with the title: Pertama Kali Terjadi, Myanmar Nekat Penjarakan Jurnalis Amerika