Aung San Suu Kyi and her former foreign economic advisor have been jailed for breaking Myanmar’s Official Secrets Act.
According to the source, ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi was also sentenced to three years in jail under the state secrets act during today’s court hearing.
Sean Turnell, Australian economist and former advisor to Aung San Suu Kyi detained by Myanmar's junta has also been sentenced to three years imprisonment, a source close to the case said on Thursday.
Turnell was sentenced to three years imprisonment under the Official Secrets Act, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Breaching the country's Official Secrets Act carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail.
International pressure and significant foreign lobbying has called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and Mr Turnell.
The Australian government had called on the junta to release Turnell, while earlier this year Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen also appealed for his freedom in a meeting with Myanmar junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing.
Australian officials and Mr Turnell have reportedly denied the allegations that he breached Myanmar's security laws.
Mr Turnell, a professor and economist from Sydney, was an economic adviser to the elected civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi prior to the coup.
Human Rights Watch Asia director Elaine Pearson protested at the sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi and Mr Turnell in this latest court hearing.
“Concerned governments should take this as a clear signal that they need to take concerted action against the junta if they are going to turn the human rights situation around in #Myanmar,” Pearson said in a Tweet.
“The politically motivated conviction of Australian Sean Turnell is a cruel injustice. He was convicted after a trial in closed court without proper access to legal counsel merely. It’s critical that Australia take all necessary steps to pressure Myanmar’s junta to release him,” she said.
Commenting on the sentencing of Australian national Sean Turnell to three years in prison on charges of violating the Official Secrets Act, Amnesty International Australia Impact Director Tim O’Connor said:
“Like thousands of others languishing behind bars since the 1 February, 2021 coup in Myanmar, Sean Turnell was denied a fair trial or adequate access to legal counsel and consular assistance. The proceedings have been an outright sham and Myanmar’s military must immediately release Turnell so he can return to his family in Australia.
“Today’s conviction is the latest in a string of politically motivated cases all designed to cement the rule of the rights-abusing Myanmar military since it seized power in the coup. The charges against
Turnell and former civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was also sentenced in one of several cases against her today, are bogus and cannot be taken seriously.
“Under military rule in Myanmar, arbitrary arrests, unlawful detention and secretive, closed-door trials have become routine. Anyone who cannot be charged with a recognizable criminal offense under international law must be freed immediately.”
AFP, Mizzima, Amnesty, HRW
