The former British ambassador to Myanmar has been detained by authorities, as the UK announces new sanctions on the country.
Vicky Bowman and her husband Htein Lin, a Burmese artist and former political prisoner, were detained on Wednesday and are now reportedly being held in the notorious Insein prison on the outskirts of the commercial capital, Yangon.
The former British government official had been working as a director at the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB).
She was the ambassador to Burma from 2002-06 and has also worked in a number of roles at the UK Foreign Office, including in Brussels.
Mr Lin is one of Myanmar's most respected artists and an activist who spent over six years from 1998 in prison for his opposition to an earlier junta.
The arrests come amid a period of unrest in the country with political and economic chaos spreading through Myanmar.
The military junta overthrew the democratically elected government in 2021, seizing power and waging a brutal crackdown on the opposition.
Thousands of dissidents have been arrested or detained and the military is fighting and committing grave atrocities.
One Myanmar soldier admitted to burning an innocent girl alive in harrowing confessions to the BBC. One soldier says he joined the military for the money but was shocked by being forced to rape, torture and kill civilians.
The British government announced a new round of sanctions on Thursday, saying that Myanmar’s military-linked companies are facing the action “in an effort to limit the military’s access to arms and revenue”.
Minister for Asia Amanda Milling said: "We continue to stand in solidarity with the Rohingya people and condemn the Myanmar Armed Forces’ horrific campaign of ethnic cleansing."
Last month, Pete Vowles, Britain’s ambassador to Myanmar announced he had been expelled by the junta for refusing to legitimise the regime by presenting his credentials.
He said on Twitter : "My time in Myanmar comes to an abrupt end today. Sad & sorry to have been forced by the junta to leave but glad we didn’t cave to pressure to legitimise their brutal coup."
It is not clear what charges Ms Bowman and Mr Lin have been held on, but sources close to the family told Myanmar Now that the regime is planning to charge Bowman, who is a UK citizen, with violating Myanmar's Immigration Act.
The pair have a 14-year-old daughter.
A spokesperson for the British Embassy in Myanmar said: "We are concerned by the arrest of a British woman in Myanmar. We are in contact with the local authorities and are providing consular assistance."
