MYANMAR: FORMER UK AMBASSADOR, ARTIST HUSBAND JAILED FOR ONE YEAR

More than 15,000 people have been arrested since the military seized power in a coup last year

Responding to reports that former UK ambassador Vicky Bowman and her Burmese husband Htein Lin have been sentenced to one year in prison on immigration charges, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns Ming Yu Hah said:

“Since the coup, we have seen activists, artists, journalists, students, business owners, and medical professionals arbitrarily detained and jailed by the military on the slightest pretext.

“The latest reports on the conviction of the former UK ambassador and her Burmese artist husband are extremely concerning. Myanmar’s military has a notorious track record of arresting and jailing people on politically motivated or trumped-up charges.

“More than 15,000 people have been arrested since the military seized power in a coup last year, and many are languishing in a vast network of detention and interrogation facilities where they have faced torture or other ill-treatment.”

Background:Media

reports on 2 September said Vicky Bowman and her husband Htein Lin had been sentenced to a year in prison. The military authorities previously said in a statement that both had been accused of violating immigration laws with regard to their registered address.

Bowman is the head of the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business, which advises companies on human rights issues in the country. She was the UK ambassador to Myanmar from 2002-2006. Her husband, Htein Lin, is a former political prisoner and prominent artist.

Myanmar has arrested more than 15,000 people since the military seized power in a coup on 1 February, 2021, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. It has also carried out four executions, the first in the country for decades.

Those detained include peaceful protesters, former civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and several of her top allies such as ousted President Win Myint. Both are facing numerous trumped-up or politically motivated charges.
Conditions in Myanmar detention facilities are dire, as Amnesty International documented the recent report “15 Days Felt like 15 Years,” which showed how torture and other ill-treatment is used to crush resistance to the coup.