British ex-envoy to Myanmar reportedly seized in Yangon: Three persons with knowledge of the issue claimed on Thursday that authorities in Myanmar had arrested Britain’s former ambassador to the Southeast Asian country. Where a military junta took control last year.
The sources, who asked to remain anonymous owing to the sensitive nature of the matter, reported that Vicky Bowman. The current director of the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB), and her husband, Htein Lin, a Burmese artist. And former political prisoner, both seiz on Wednesday.
According to someone who knows the issue, Bowman and her husband face immigration charges.
The arrest follows Britain’s announcement that it will join Myanmar’s lawsuit before the International Court of Justice and impose further penalties on military-affiliated enterprises in Myanmar.
After the Maldives, the Netherlands, and Canada, Britain is the fourth nation to formally pledge support for the Gambia’s lawsuit against Myanmar to discover if its troops killed Rohingya Muslims in genocide operations in 2016 and 2017.
The British government announced sanctions on three firms on Wednesday “in an attempt to curtail the military’s access to armaments and income.”
Numerous attempts to reach a Myanmar junta spokeswoman for comment were unsuccessful.
Since the military ousted an elected government in early 2021, Myanmar has been in political and economic disarray.
According to a political prisoner advocacy organization called the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. They stated that over 15,000 persons have detained, and over 12,119 have imprisoned. That number, according to the junta, is inflated.
We worried about the detention of a British lady in Myanmar, a representative for the British embassy in Yangon stated.
We interact with the local government and provide consular support. However, the spokeswoman omitted the person’s name.
Bowman, 56, has more than three decades of experience in Myanmar and held the position of ambassador there from 2002 to 2006.
Her spouse Htein Lin, 55, is one of Myanmar’s most well-known artists and a seasoned campaigner who served 6 1/2 years in jail for his resistance to a previous government, from 1998 to 2004.
According to a source, the pair had remanded in detention. They transported to the infamous Insein prison, located outside of Yangon’s commercial downtown and home to many political prisoners.
Their small kid was still “safe and healthy,” the source claimed.
The most recent foreigner imprisoned in Myanmar is Bowman. Japanese independent filmmaker Toru Kubota and Australian economist Sean Turnell. A longstanding adviser to ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, are still held. Their governments have demanded their release.
