Freed U.S. editor says he was tortured in Myanmar

U.S. journalist Nathan Maung speaks after being deported from Myanmar following more than three months in detention, in this handout picture taken in Virginia, U.S. June 26, 2021. Picture taken June 26, 2021. Handout via REUTERS

(Reuters) - Myanmar security forces punched, slapped and beat a U.S. journalist and kept him blindfolded for more than a week of interrogation, he said after being deported to the United States following over three months in detention.

Nathan Maung, 44, editor-in-chief of the online news platform Kamayut Media, was detained on March 9 in a raid and freed on June 15. He said his colleague Hanthar Nyein, who remains in detention, had been tortured more harshly, as had other people he met in prison.