Among others, Myanmar frees Australian economist, former UK envoy

Robert Besser
20 Nov 2022, 14:57 GMT+10

Myanmar's ruling military freed nearly 6,000 prisoners in a mass amnesty this week, including an Australian economist and a former UK envoy
Australia said Australian economic adviser to deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, economist Sean Turnell, was among those released
A diplomatic source confirmed that former British envoy Vicky Bowman had also left Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar: Myanmar's ruling military freed nearly 6,000 prisoners in a mass amnesty this week, including an Australian economist and a former UK envoy.

Australia said Australian economic adviser to deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, economist Sean Turnell, was among those released and has arrived in neighboring Thailand, while a diplomatic source confirmed that former British envoy Vicky Bowman had also left Myanmar.

Meanwhile, Myanmar's state-run MRTV showed footage of the pair, as well as Japan's Toru Kubota, a filmmaker, signing exit documents with officials. The United States said its citizen, Kyaw Htay Oo, was also released.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese thanked the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia for pressuring the military to free Turnell, who was found guilty of a state secrets violation and sentenced in September to three years in jail.

"I've just spoken to Sean Turnell, who has been released from 650 days of unfair, unjust imprisonment in Myanmar," Albanese told reporters in Bangkok, where he is attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

State-controlled media said the amnesty included 5,774 prisoners and foreigners, who were released "for the relationship with other countries and also for humanitarian purposes."

Speaking in Bangkok, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the release was "one bright spot in what is otherwise an incredibly dark time."

"Whether this signals anything more broadly about the intentions of the regime, I can't tell you - too soon to say."

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Professional Autos.

More Information

26 ℃

Mostly Cloudy in Seletar

Business

Section

SpaceX Starship launch in March called possibility

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida: In a tweet this weekend, Elon Musk said that SpaceX may attempt a Starship rocket system launch ...

Officials hopeful as UK new car sales rise 14 percent in January

LONDON, England: The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has reported that new car registrations in the UK rose for ...

Big jump in sales for Foxconn as China ends Covid restrictions

TAIPEI, Taiwan: After the end of COVID-19 disruptions in China, Taiwan's Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics maker and major ...

U.S. stocks get boost from Fed chair, Nasdaq surges 226 points

NEW YORK, New York - Stocks ended sharply higher on Tuesday following mixed comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.Powell ...

Media reports US to sue Amazon claiming antitrust violations

NEW YORK CITY, New York: The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the US Federal Trade Commission is preparing ...

Blaming cost of manufacturing, Nestle to raise prices for second year

VEVEY, Switzerland: In an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung this week, Nestle's Chief Executive Mark Schneider said the world's largest ...

Engineering

Section