The Japanese journalist detained for illegally entering Myanmar (Burma) has been deported. Toru Yamaji, a journalist with the video and photo agency APF News, had been arrested during Sunday's election in Myawaddy on the eastern border with Thailand.
An unnamed official told Agence France-Presse (AFP), "We released him and deported him. We did not take any action against him because of the complicated situation."
Yamaji, who had initially be charged under the Immigration Act, crossed over back into Thailand. "He said there is no problem with his health. He is now heading to a nearby hotel," a spokesman of APF News said.
More than 20,000 people had crossed over from Myanmar into Thailand after fierce clashes were reported between government troops and ethnic Karen rebels. According to Bernama, most of the refugees have now returned.
The violence erupted shortly after Sunday's election, held for the first time in 20 years. Foreign journalists and observers were banned from entering the country to cover the polls.
UPDATE: Yamaji told newspersons in Bangkok that he was picked up by four persons who identified themselves as secret police, according to the Democratic Voice of Burma.
“I was put in a single occupancy room that was like a pigsty, covered in a cage,” he said. “A political prisoner who was in a cage next to me said, ‘Thank you for working for us’. That made me happy and tearful.”
Gunfire then erupted around the police station, as troops from a breakaway Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) faction made an incursion into the town. “Shots were fired many times next to the structure I was in and the roads close by. I asked the prison guard to open the door but he wouldn’t listen. It didn’t feel like I was living; it felt very scary.”
Two days later a judge arrived at the police station. “I will pronounce a five- to seven-year prison sentence on you,” he told Yamaji. “On 21 November you will be transferred to a court of law, and will most probably be sent down with the sentencing,” the judge finished. An hour later, however, the judge made another appearance. “There is good news for you,” he told the reporter, explaining that the “deep friendship” between the Burmese and Japanese governments meant Yamaji would be released.
