YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Thein Zaw, a journalist for The Associated Press who was arrested last month while covering a protest against the Myanmar coup, was released from prison on Wednesday.
Thein Zaw told the AP and his family about his release by phone after his second hearing since his arrest almost a month ago.
Speaking while returning home, he said the judge in his case had read a statement in court that all charges against him were being dropped because he was doing his job at the time of his arrest.
“I look forward to meeting my family,” he said, while expressing concern for other journalists who remain in custody. “I am sorry for some colleagues who are still in prison.”
Thein Zaw was accused of violating a public order law that carries a sentence of up to three years in prison.
He was one of nine media workers detained during the February 27 street protest in Yangon, the country’s largest city, and was detained without bail. About 40 journalists have been arrested or charged since the February 1 coup.
The Associated Press and many press freedom organizations have called for the release of Thein Zaw and other detained members of the press.
“The Associated Press is deeply relieved that AP journalist Thein Zaw has been released from prison in Myanmar,” said Ian Phillips, AP vice president for international news. “Our relief is dampened by the fact that other journalists are still being held. We urge Myanmar to release all journalists and allow them to report freely and safely what is happening within the country. “
Thein Zaw was arrested while photographing policemen, some of them armed, attacking anti-coup protesters down a street. A video shows that, although he took a step to the side of the street to get out of the way, several policemen ran and surrounded him. One put him in a choke while he was handcuffed and taken away.
He was held at Yangon’s Insein Prison, famous for decades for holding political prisoners, and which currently holds hundreds of people detained for protesting the coup that overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government.
Thein Zaw’s lawyer, Tin Zar Oo, was only able to see her client for the first time in a March 12 hearing to renew her pre-trial detention, and yet it was through a video link that she and one of Thein Zaw’s brothers assisted in the court of the municipality of Kamayut. His next hearing was scheduled for Wednesday.