Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) has secured the release of an American citizen in Myanmar who was recently sentenced to seven years of hard labor in the country, according to reports.
John Yettaw of Missouri was arrested and convicted for trying to swim across a lake to reach the home of Aung San Suu Kyi, a leader of a dissident party in Myanmar who is currently under house arrest. Suu Kyi was convicted herself on Tuesday of harboring Yettaw.
“I am grateful to the Myanmar government for honoring these requests,” said Webb, who is on a fact-finding trip to Myanmar.
Webb met with the country’s ruling military junta while in the country, raising protests from exiled Myanmar dissidents. The Virginia Democrat also met with Suu Kyi, his staff told reporters.