By Emily Caulkett-
Britain’s former ambassador to Myanmar and her husband, a prominent artist, have been sentenced to one year in prison by the country’s military-controlled courts, reports say.
Ms Bowman, who runs an organisation that promotes ethical business practices in Myanmar, and husband were arrested on 24 August for staying at an address different to the one she had registered under.
She was the ambassador in Myanmar from 2002 to 2006, and her husband, Htein Lin, a veteran democracy activist, were arrested last week in Yangon and accused of violating immigration laws.
They have each been sentenced to one year in prison, according to the BBC and Associated Press.
Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for campaigns, Ming Yu Hah, described news of their conviction as extremely concerning. “Myanmar’s military has a notorious track record of arresting and jailing people on politically motivated or trumped-up charges,” she said.
Last month, Bowman was detained after failing to declare she had moved from an address listed on her foreigner’s registration certificate. Her husband was arrested for allegedly helping his wife reside at a different address than their registered home in Yangon, the country’s commercial hub.
The ruling comes on the same day that Myanmar’s former democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to three more years in jail on charges of election fraud. She is already serving 17 years for other offenses, including corruption and incitement.
No official comment has been made on behalf of Myanmar’s government on the case until now. The British Foreign Office has vowed to “support Ms Bowman and her family until their case is resolved.”
On Friday, courts sentenced the ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, 77, to three years’ imprisonment for electoral fraud, meaning she faces a total 20-year sentence. Further cases against her, which could lead to decades more prison time, are ongoing.
The ousted president, Win Myint, and the former minister of the president’s office, Min Thu, also received sentences of three years for electoral fraud, according to AP.
The military has sought to justify its 2021 coup by alleging widespread fraud in the 2020 election – which Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won by a landslide.
The Asian Network for Free Elections, an independent group that observed the 2020 vote, found it was “by and large, representative of the will of the people”, however. In a statement, it condemned the latest convictions and called on the military to respect the results of the election.
Dr Sasa, spokesperson for the National Unity Government (NUG), which was formed by elected lawmakers as well as activists in opposition to the coup, said the cases against Aung San Suu Kyi were ridiculous, and that the military was simply trying to silence her. She has been denied free and proper access to her lawyer, he said.
“This is just the military doing everything they can to prolong their reign of terror agains the people of Myanmar. This has nothing to do with rule of law, nothing to do with justice, it’s all about them remaining in power,” said Sasa.
The sentences announced on Friday, including those relating to Bowman and Htein Lin, showed the true colours of the Myanmar military, he added. “Regardless of whether you are a foreigner, or a diplomat, whoever you are, if you are in Myanmar, you are not safe. They do not see you as a human being. They see you as someone who can be taken away from the house at night,” he said.