A court in Myanmar ruled Thursday that it will not allow a Burmese-English translator at the upcoming trial of Sean Turnell, an Australian economist who has been charged under the Official Secrets Act, AP reported.

Turnell had served as an adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi and was arrested after her elected government was ousted by the army in February.

The ruling forbidding a translator was issued at a pre-trial hearing at a special court in the capital, Naypyitaw, said Ye Lin Aung, Turnell’s lawyer.