YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Thein Zaw, a journalist for The Associated Press who was arrested last month while covering a protest against the coup in Myanmar, told his family he has been informed he is being released from detention on Wednesday.

He has not yet left custody but was expected to be released soon. There was no official confirmation of his release.

He had been charged with violating a public order law that carries a penalty of up to three years’ imprisonment.

Thein Zaw was one of nine media workers taken into custody during the Feb. 27 street protest in Yangon, the country’s largest city, and had been held without bail. About 40 journalists have been detained or charged since the Feb. 1 coup, roughly half of whom remain behind bars.

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