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Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
World

Myanmar junta jails former British envoy for a year

Myanmar's junta on Friday sentences Vicky Bowman to one year in prison for breaching immigration rules. (Photo courtesy of Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business)

Myanmar's junta jailed a former British ambassador to the country and her husband for a year on Friday for breaching immigration rules, a diplomatic source said.

Vicky Bowman and her husband, prominent Burmese artist Htein Lin, were sentenced to a year each, a source with knowledge of the case told AFP.

Bowman, who served as envoy from 2002 to 2006, was detained last month for failing to declare she was living at an address different from the one listed on her foreigner's registration certificate.

Htein Lin was arrested for helping his wife reside at an address different to their registered home in commercial hub Yangon.

The couple could have been jailed for up to five years.

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Prior to serving as ambassador, Bowman was the second secretary in the British embassy from 1990 to 1993.

Htein Lin was arrested in 1998 and imprisoned for opposing the rule of a previous junta.

Ties between Myanmar and former colonial ruler Britain have soured since a coup last year, with London imposing several rounds of sanctions on businesses and individuals with ties to the military.


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