Myanmar’s military has reportedly released Australian economist Sean Turnell and three other foreigners under an amnesty covering 6000 prisoners to mark the country’s National Victory Day.
Government’s spokesperson Major General Zaw Min Tun told the Voice of Myanmar and Yangon Media Group on Thursday that Turnell, Japanese filmmaker Toru Kubota and ex-British diplomat Vicky Bowman, as well as an unidentified American, had been released and deported.
Myanmar’s state-run MRTV later confirmed the reports, but there was no immediate independent confirmation they had been released.
Turnell, 58, an associate professor in economics at Sydney’s Macquarie University, was working in Myanmar as an adviser to ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi when he was arrested in 2021 after the military seized power in a coup.
He was sentenced in September to three years in prison for violating the country’s official secrets law and immigration law.
Kubota, a 26-year-old Tokyo-based documentary filmmaker, was arrested on July 30 after taking images and videos of a small flash protest against the military takeover last year.
He was convicted last month by the prison court of incitement for taking part in the protest and other charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Bowman, 56, a former British ambassador to Myanmar was arrested with her husband, a Myanmar national, in Yangon in August. She was given a one-year prison term in September for failing to register her residence.
AP with Reuters and AAP
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