YANGON: Myanmar’s ruling junta said on Thursday that it will release 700 prisoners, including a former British envoy, a Japanese journalist, and an advisor to the previous government of Aung San Suu Kyi who was ousted from power in a military coup in February last year.
A senior officer told AFP that former British ambassador Vicky Bowman, Japanese journalist Toru Kubota and Australian economic advisor Sean Turnell will be released to mark National Day.
Bowman, an ambassador from 2002 to 2006, was detained with her spouse in August in a residential case. She had failed to declare living at an address different from the one mentioned on her foreigner registration certificate.
Bowman Was Jailed for One Year in Residential Case
The couple was sent to jail for one year. Bowman’s husband Htein Lin who is a renowned artist will also be released.
The other prominent detainee Sean Turnell was arrested shortly after the coup against the Suu kyi government in February 2021. Turnell is a prominent economist and was working with Myanmar’s government as an advisor before his arrest. He was convicted by a close junta court of breaching the official secrets act and sent to jail for three years.
While the renowned journalist Kubota was arrested in July near an anti-government rally in the capital city Yangon. The court had announced 10 years jail term for him. APP/AFP
