Myanmar frees detained BBC journalist as protests continue

The BBC said Monday that a journalist from its Burmese-language service was released by authorities in Myanmar but gave no details, as protesters in the Southeast Asian nation continued their broad civil disobedience movement against last month's military coup.

The journalist, Aung Thura, was detained on March 19 by men who appeared to be plainclothes security agents while reporting outside a court in the capital of Naypyitaw.

Arrests of media workers have been part of the junta's intensifying efforts to choke off information about resistance to the February 1 coup. Some 40 journalists have been arrested since the coup, half of whom are still in detention — including Thein Zaw of The Associated Press — according to the Myanmar-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.