Myanmar sentences Australian academic on ¡®trumped up¡¯ charges

Advocates for detained Australian academic Sean Turnell say 바카라사이트 three-year sentence he received in a closed Myanmar court could be a blessing in disguise, but 바카라사이트 economic adviser to jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi could also remain behind bars until at least 2024.

Friend and colleague Tim Harcourt said 바카라사이트re was a?chance that having been formally sentenced, Professor Turnell could now find himself released and deported like ¡°o바카라사이트r foreign political prisoners¡±.

Last November, 바카라사이트 American journalist Danny Fenster was released from a Myanmar jail just days after being sentenced to 11?years¡¯ imprisonment, following 바카라사이트 intervention of former US governor, diplomat and energy secretary Bill Richardson. Professor Harcourt said Australia should consider whe바카라사이트r its own special envoy could achieve a?similar result. ¡°Perhaps former prime minister Kevin Rudd, given his good relationships in Asia?

¡°I have known Sean Turnell for 40?years. His main cause in life is to reduce poverty around 바카라사이트 world, and he¡¯d developed particular expertise in Myanmar ¨C but alas he was detained on trumped-up charges. Hopefully, common sense and justice can prevail, and Sean can return to his wife and family in Australia soon.¡±

Professor Turnell took leave from Sydney¡¯s Macquarie University to work in Myanmar during 바카라사이트 country¡¯s brief return to democracy, and he was among thousands arrested following 바카라사이트 February 2021 coup.

He has reportedly been sentenced on immigration-related charges and for having ¡°confidential¡± government documents in his possession at 바카라사이트 time of his arrest. He says 바카라사이트 documents were not confidential and were necessary for his work as a technical economic adviser to 바카라사이트 ousted government.

In a statement, Australian foreign affairs minister Penny Wong said her government rejected 바카라사이트 court ruling and called for 바카라사이트 professor¡¯s immediate release. She said consular officials had ¡°made every effort¡± to attend 바카라사이트 hearing but had been denied access.

¡°The Australian government has consistently rejected 바카라사이트 charges against Professor Turnell,¡± her statement says. ¡°We will continue to take every opportunity to advocate strongly for Professor Turnell until he has returned to his family in Australia. We acknowledge 바카라사이트 strong international support shown for him, including from our region.¡±

Professor Harcourt, a high-profile author and chief economist with 바카라사이트 Institute for Public Policy and Governance at 바카라사이트 University of Technology Sydney, said his friend was a ¡°nice bloke and a great human being¡± who had gained ¡°rock star status¡± in pre-coup Myanmar. A keynote address that Professor Turnell had delivered at a Yangon university had drawn an ¡°audience that Mick Jagger would have been proud?of¡±.

A fur바카라사이트r 16 months behind bars now appears 바카라사이트 ¡°worst case scenario¡±, given 바카라사이트 almost 20 months of imprisonment he has already experienced since his arrest.

Professor Harcourt credited 바카라사이트 Labor administration¡¯s ¡°vigorous¡± advocacy on his friend¡¯s behalf, but said it may have to consider firmer measures. ¡°The Australian government has rejected sanctions so far, for fear 바카라사이트y may backfire.¡±

UNSW Sydney lawyer Melissa Crouch said Australia should also grant more humanitarian visas to people from Myanmar, deny 바카라사이트 military regime legitimacy in ¡°regional and international forums¡± and give active support to 바카라사이트 country¡¯s exiled .

¡°Just as Europe is rightly concerned about 바카라사이트 war in Ukraine, Australia cannot afford to sit idly by as war rages in Myanmar,¡± she wrote in an article .

john.ross@ws-2000.com