YANGON: A US journalist detained in Myanmar since March was released on Monday after charges against him were dropped, his lawyer said.

US citizen Nathan Maung “was released this morning from Insein prison as the police withdrew the charges against him”, and will fly back to the US on Tuesday, his lawyer Tin Zar Oo told AFP.

Maung, who founded local outlet Kamayut Media, had faced charges under a colonial-era law that criminalises encouraging dissent against the military, she added.

Earlier this month a Myanmar journalist working for another outlet was jailed for two years under the same law.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, triggering a mass uprising as large swathes of the population take to the streets.