Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called on Burma (also known as Myanmar) to release Australian scholar Sean Turnell, who has been detained in the military regime since February 2021.
Turnell, an Australian adviser to the retired leader Aung San Suu Kyi, was arrested five days after the administration couped on February 1, 2021 to dismiss the previous administration.
He has since been charged with violating Burmese official secret law and has been detained for the past 16 months. A Burmese court on June 10 ruled that the prosecutor had gathered enough evidence against Turnell to proceed with his trial.
Talking about the decision, Albanese said the adviser’s administration was unjustified.
“Shawn Turnell should be released. That is the position of the government. Based on this, we will continue to make strong expressions. What we have seen is unjust, human rights and proper legality in Myanmar. There is a destruction of the procedure. “Albanise I told reporters..
“Sean Turnell will continue to receive the full support of the Australian Government to carry out the proper process, but he should be released.”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong Prime Minister’s call..
“The Australian government has rejected this week’s court ruling in Myanmar against Professor Sean Turnell of Australia,” Wong said in a statement. “Professor Turnell has been working for Myanmar’s economic development for many years and is internationally respected in this record. We continue to support Professor Turnell’s interests and well-being and he is safely with his family. It won’t stop until you return to. “
Turnell was a highly regarded scholar at Macquarie University in Sydney and was the director of the Myanmar Development Institute in the capital Naypyidaw. His wife HaVus stands beside her husband and writes on social media that he did nothing wrong.
“He used his 20 years of economics knowledge to work in Myanmar. He is the one who brings job opportunities and jobs to the people of Myanmar,” she said.
Turnell has raised a voice in him Criticism The Burmese army, which he believes is resistant to change and has become a well-established influence on public services.
“The military cannot easily avoid the forces they have held for decades. The military budget remains completely separate from the national budget, and the government’s private sector says nothing about military spending decisions. No, “he said.
Meanwhile, according to Reuters, on April 27, 2022, a Burmese court ruled that Aung San Suu Kyi, a leader whose testimony was taken, would be sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of 11 corruption cases. did. She was charged with at least 18 crimes with a 190-year imprisonment.
Soo Chi is a Nobel laureate and representative of Burma’s opposition to the military regime. One source has revealed to Reuters that she will appeal her verdict.
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Victoria Kelly-Clark is an Australian-based reporter focusing on the national political and geopolitical environment of the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and Central Asia.