YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Thein Zaw, a journalist for the Associated Press who was arrested last month while covering a protest against the coup in Myanmar, was released from custody on Wednesday.
Thein Zaw told the AP and his family about his release by phone after the second court hearing since his arrest almost a month ago.
Speaking on his way home, he said the judge in his case read a statement in court that all charges against him were dropped because he was doing his job at the time of his arrest.
“I look forward to meeting my family members,” he said, expressing concern about other journalists remaining in custody. “I’m sorry for some colleagues who are still in prison.”
Thein Zaw had been charged with violating a law and order of up to three years in prison.
He was one of nine media workers arrested during the February 27 street protest in Yangon, the country’s largest city, and was detained without bail. About 40 journalists have been detained or charged since the February 1 coup.
The Associated Press and many media freedom organizations have called for the release of Thein Zaw and other 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 tempered by the fact that additional journalists remain detained there. We urge Myanmar to release all journalists and allow them to report freely and safely on what is happening inside the country. ”
Thein Zaw was arrested while photographing police, some of them armed, loading anti-coup protesters on a street. A video shows that, although he stepped on the side of the street to get out of their way, several policemen rushed and surrounded him. One put him in a choke while he was handcuffed and then taken.
He had been held in Insein Prison in Yangon, notorious for decades for holding political prisoners and now holding hundreds of people detained in protest of the coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Thein Zaw’s lawyer, Tin Zar Oo, was only able to see her client for the first time at a March 12 hearing for the renewal of pretrial detention, and even then, via a video link, she and one of Thein Zaw’s brothers watched at the court in Kamayut Township. His next hearing was scheduled for Wednesday.