JAPANESE SCRIBE INDICTED IN MYANMAR TO BE FREED

A Japanese freelance journalist detained by security forces in Myanmar in mid-April and accused of spreading "fake news" will be released Friday, May 14, 2021, a military spokesman told Kyodo News.

Yuki Kitazumi, 45, has already been moved to a police facility from the prison where he had been held following his arrest on April 18, the spokesman said. The Japanese Embassy in Myanmar said its staff spoke with Kitazumi by phone on Wednesday and found he has no health issues. The embassy also confirms the military's plan to release him.

The Myanmar junta has imprisoned 80 journalists.

According to the state-run TV, the junta's information office said Kitazumi had been arrested and indicted for supporting the anti-coup civil disobedience movement and violent protests, and for not complying with visa regulations.

"Although the Japanese journalist Mr. Yuki Kitazumi has broken some laws, the charges against him will be withdrawn and he will be released," the State Administration Council Information Team reportedly said.

It said the decision was made "in consideration of cordial relations between Myanmar and Japan up to now and in view of future bilateral relations, and upon the request of the Japanese government special envoy on Myanmar's national reconciliation."

Kitazumi could have faced a jail term of up to three years if convicted under the penal code as amended after the Feb. 1 military coup.

The journalist, who previously worked at the Tokyo-based Nikkei business daily, had covered anti-government protests and posted online through such means as social media information deemed to be critical of the military.

Kitazumi had been detained previously while covering an anti-military protest on Feb. 26, but he was released later in the day.

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