By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Starr FmStarr FmStarr Fm
  • Home
  • Election Hub
  • General
    GeneralShow More
    President Mahama announces 24-hour operations at Tema and Takoradi ports during Ghana Horticulture Expo 2025.
    Oti Region to get public university under my tenure – Mahama assures
    July 26, 2025
    Oti Region to get modern multi-purpose stadium – Mahama
    July 25, 2025
    Ghana’s public debt drops by GHS113 billion – Mahama
    July 25, 2025
    President Mahama announces cancellation of fuel allowances for political appointees as cost-cutting measure
    Mahama pledges to prioritise completion of delayed Oti RCC admin block
    July 25, 2025
    Damanko-Kpassa water system to be reconstructed – Mahama
    July 25, 2025
  • Business
    BusinessShow More
    Economist applauds bold move to de-dollarize Ghana’s economy
    July 25, 2025
    Ban on dollarisation could backfire without cedi stability – Joe Jackson
    July 25, 2025
    Mid-Year Budget shows clear commitment to economic stability – Joe Jackson
    July 25, 2025
    Google announces $37M in cumulative funding and new AI Community Center in Accra to advance AI in Africa
    July 25, 2025
    Cedi performance in first half of year has been impressive – Finance Minister
    July 24, 2025
  • Politics
    PoliticsShow More
    Damanko-Kpassa water system to be reconstructed – Mahama
    July 25, 2025
    Mahama to host youth for Presidential Dialogue on August 12
    July 25, 2025
    Hugh Brown sues Abronye DC for GH¢20m in defamation claims
    July 25, 2025
    Bipartisan support key to constitutional reforms – Prof. H. Kwesi Prempeh
    July 25, 2025
    I’ll never support LGBTQ+, it’s against my values – Gyakye Quayson
    July 25, 2025
  • Entertainment
    EntertainmentShow More
    The Weeknd & Shakira to headline 2025 Global Citizen Festival with Tyla, Ayra Starr & Mariah The Scientist
    July 22, 2025
    ACP partners MiPrime Entertainment to Champion Investment in Ghana’s Creative Industry
    July 21, 2025
    I want music to be my legacy, not fame – Rocky Dawuni
    July 18, 2025
    The sense to minister with music came early – Rocky Dawuni
    July 18, 2025
    “You can’t be a Black man and worship a white God” – Rocky Dawuni
    July 18, 2025
  • Sports
    SportsShow More
    NYA CEO, Osman Ayariga pledges support for 2025 Gbese Mantse Homowo Peace Cup
    July 25, 2025
    Kofi Adams hails Black Queens for gallant AFCON semi-final performance
    July 23, 2025
    Black Queens bow out of WAFCON 2024 after 4–2 penalty loss to Morocco
    July 23, 2025
    Sports Minister rallies Black Queens ahead of WAFCON semi-final with Morocco
    July 22, 2025
    Ghana and Serbia forge strategic sports partnership with landmark MoU
    July 22, 2025
  • Technology
    TechnologyShow More
    AI integrated skills training needed to escape job losses – NBU YEC
    July 23, 2025
    Samsung Ghana unveils 2025 TV line-up
    July 22, 2025
    Osman Ayariga speaking on youth empowerment and AI at World Youth Skills Day event
    “Youth should not see AI as competition, but as a digital tool” – Osman Ayariga
    July 17, 2025
    Samsung Introduces Future-Ready Mobile Security for Personalized AI Experiences
    July 16, 2025
    Samsung Electronics acquires Xealth, bridging the gap between wellness and medical care
    July 16, 2025
  • International
    InternationalShow More
    Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu signs MoUs with GEICO and CMS Group for new public universities
    Education Minister signs MoUs with GEICO, CMS Group to establish two public universities
    July 15, 2025
    Presidency terminates Zoomlion’s contract over concerns of impropriety and inflated billing
    Mahama pushes AU–CARICOM partnership to strengthen global reparations push
    July 14, 2025
    47th AU Forum: Ablakwa criticizes $1.2m AfCFTA allocation as ‘highly insufficient’
    July 10, 2025
    Minority demands audit over $1.2m passport relaunch cost and delays
    July 9, 2025
    Minority demands compensation for citizens stranded by US embassy closure
    July 9, 2025
  • Factometer
Search
© 2024 EIB Network Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Ex-UK ambassador to be freed in Myanmar amnesty
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Starr FmStarr Fm
Font ResizerAa
  • Headlines
  • Election Hub
  • General
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Factometer
Search
  • Headlines
  • Election Hub
  • General
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Factometer
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© 2024 EIB Network Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Editors PickInternational

Ex-UK ambassador to be freed in Myanmar amnesty

Isaac Dzidzoamenu By Isaac Dzidzoamenu Published November 17, 2022
Share
SHARE

Myanmar’s military is to release 6,000 prisoners including a former UK ambassador, a Japanese filmmaker and an Australian adviser to the country’s ousted leader.

Ex-diplomat Vicky Bowman and Toru Kubota were jailed earlier this year while Sean Turnell was detained shortly after the 2021 coup.

The military junta said the pardons were to mark Myanmar National Day.

The military has arrested more than 16,000 people since seizing power.

It overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government in February 2021 – sparking huge protests across the country and a widespread resistance movement.

Ms Bowman served as the UK’s envoy to Myanmar between 2002 and 2006, and was running the Yangon-based Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB) at the time of her arrest.

A fluent Burmese speaker, she is a well-known member of Myanmar’s small international community. Her husband Htein Lin is a former political prisoner.

The couple were detained when they returned to the city from a home they have in Shan State. Military authorities charged them both with failing to register her as living at a different address.

However the case was likely to have been about wider political concerns than immigration offences, for which foreigners are rarely prosecuted in Myanmar.

“Thousands of people jailed since the coup in Myanmar have done nothing wrong and should never have been imprisoned in the first place,” said Amnesty International’s Australia Impact Director Tim O’Connor, adding that the release should not “deter international focus from the brutality of the Myanmar military’s activities since the coup in February 2021.”

“Under military rule in Myanmar, arbitrary arrests, unlawful detention and secretive, closed-door trials have become routine,” he said, calling for “anyone who cannot be charged with a recognisable” crime to be released.

Mr Turnell meanwhile was detained in Yangon in February 2021, days after the military launched its coup, and was jailed for three years under the Official Secrets Act.

He was a close adviser of ousted opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who since her overthrow has been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison on a range of charges.

At the time, the Australian government said it rejected the court’s ruling in Mr Turnell’s case, noting their citizen had been tried in a closed military court.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong hailed reports of Mr Turnell’s release.

“We welcome reports in relation to Professor Sean Turnell,” she posted on Twitter. “Professor Turnell continues to be our first priority. As such, we will not be commenting further at this stage.”

Documentary maker Toru Kobuta, 26, was arrested in July near an anti-government rally in Yangon. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison on sedition charges and for violating the electronic communications law. According to Reporters Without Borders, at least 68 journalists were detained in Myanmar before today’s amnesty.

Kubota, who first arrived in Myanmar in July, was filming a “documentary featuring a Myanmar person”, a friend of his was reported to have said earlier this year.

According to filmmaker site Film Freeway, Kubota started his career when he met a Rohingya refugee in Japan in 2014, and subsequently made “several films about refugees and ethnic issues in Myanmar”.

Also among those released was Kyaw Tint Swe, a former minister and a close aide to Aung San Suu Kyi, state media said.

The military in Myanmar has been accused of widespread human rights violations since seizing power. According to monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 2,400 people have been killed by the military since the coup.

Source: BBC

You Might Also Like

Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe writes: Religious leaders must leave constitutional matters alone

Change in Government: A Legal Perspective on Corporate Governance in SOEs

I want music to be my legacy, not fame – Rocky Dawuni

The sense to minister with music came early – Rocky Dawuni

“I see God in everybody” – Rocky Dawuni on unity beyond race or tribe

TAGGED:UK
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print
Share
Previous Article FOSDA trains 40 young persons as social media influencers
Next Article #EIBQatar2022: Ghana five players to watch

Starr 103.5FM

Starr FmStarr Fm
Follow US
© 2024 EIB Network Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
newsletter icon
Join Us!

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest in news, podcasts etc..

[mc4wp_form]
Zero spam, Unsubscribe at any time.
adbanner
AdBlock Detected
Our site is an advertising supported site. Please whitelist to support our site.
Okay, I'll Whitelist
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?