The United Nations has renewed its demands for the Myanmar authorities to release 47 journalists since the military coup in early February, welcoming the release of journalist Danny Finster.
This came in a press conference held by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, at the permanent headquarters of the International Organization in New York.
“We welcome reports that Myanmar has released Finster and consider this a positive step,” Haq said.
“We reiterate our demand for the release of 47 other journalists, including 7 female journalists who are still in detention,” he added.
“And all these journalists deserve to be free,” he continued.
On Friday, Finster, managing editor of the online magazine Frontier Myanmar, was convicted of publishing false or inflammatory information, contacting illegal organizations and violating visa regulations.
The military has been monitoring and cracking down on journalists since the coup. The UN says at least 126 journalists, media officials or publishers have been detained by the military, of whom 47 remain in detention.
