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.
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.
