The National Press Club called on Myanmar to immediately release an Associated Press journalist who was arrested last week while photographing security forces charging at anti-coup protesters.
Authorities have charged Thein Zaw and five other members of the media with violating a public order law that could see them imprisoned for up to three years.
A video of the arrest shows Zaw being quickly surrounded and held in a chokehold as handcuffs are placed on him.
This undated family photo provided on Wednesday, March 3, 2021 shows Associated Press journalist Thein Zaw in Mon State, Myanmar. Authorities in Myanmar charged Thein Zaw and five other members of the media with violating a public order law that could see them imprisoned for up to three years. The six were arrested while covering protests against the Feb. 1, 2021 military coup in Myanmar that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. (Thein Zaw family via AP)
The Associated Press has also called for Zaw's immediate release and condemned his arrest and “arbitrary detention.”
In a statement Thursday, National Press Club President Lisa Nicole Matthews, AP's assignment manager for U.S. video, and National Press Club Journalism Institute President Angela Greiling Kean expressed concern for Zaw's safety.
“We believe he was simply doing his job as a journalist and look forward to his swift release," the statement said.