US journalist Fenster freed from military-ruled Myanmar after six months in jail

U.S. journalist Danny Fenster is returning home Monday after spending nearly six months in jail in military-ruled Myanmar.

His release was negotiated by Bill Richardson, a former New Mexico governor and United Nations ambassador, according to the Associated Press.

Fenster, the managing editor of the online magazine Frontier Myanmar, was convicted Friday of spreading false or inflammatory information, contacting illegal organizations and violating visa regulations. He was sentenced to 11 years of hard labor, the harshest yet among the seven journalists known to have been convicted since the military ousted the elected government in February, the wire service also reports.

Fenster will return to the United States via Qatar over the next day and a half, according to a statement from Richardson's office. He has been in detention since taken into custody on May 24 while headed to the Detroit to see his family.