dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
Arrested dpa journalist Robert Bociaga deported from Myanmar
Berlin (ots)
Robert Bociaga, a Polish journalist arrested in Myanmar on March 11, has been freed. Bociaga had been working in Myanmar principally for the German Press Agency dpa. The 30-year old was due to land in Poland on Friday, dpa said.
Bociaga was arrested in the city of Taunggyi while trying to report about the protests after the military coup in the South-East Asian country. Local media reported that he had been beaten during his arrest. He was detained in a local police station, as Bociaga himself has confirmed now. In the end, Bociaga was handed a fine for a visa offence and deported from Myanmar.
"We are very relieved that Robert Bociaga is free and will soon be with his family again," said dpa Editor-in-Chief Sven Gösmann. "We thank the Foreign Ministry, the Germany Embassy in Myanmar as well as the NGO Bridges to Justice for their great help, and all who expressed their concern over Robert's fate."
The editor-in-chief cautioned that the situation for journalists in Myanmar and for the entire population remains very dangerous."We appeal to the transitional government to respect freedom of the press and human rights. The world and dpa will continue to watch what is happening in Myanmar closely," Gösmann said.
About dpa:
The German Press Agency (dpa) was founded in 1949 and is one of the world's leading independent news agencies. dpa supplies media outlets, businesses and other organizations with editorial content, including text, photos, videos, graphics, audio and other formats. As an international agency, dpa reports in seven languages. The company has around 1,000 journalists in 150 locations in Germany and abroad. Its shareholders are 177 German media companies. Staff work according to the principles outlined in the dpa statute: independently from ideologies, businesses and governments. The central editing desk, under the leadership of Editor-in-Chief Sven Gösmann, is located in Berlin. The management team, headed by President & CEO Peter Kropsch, is based in Hamburg. The Chairman of the Board is David Brandstätter (Main-Post GmbH, Würzburg).
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