Britain's ex-Myanmar envoy detained in Yangon

BANGKOK • The authorities in Myanmar have detained Britain's former ambassador to the South-east Asian nation, where a military junta seized power last year, three people with knowledge of the situation said yesterday.

Ms Vicky Bowman, 56, who runs the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business, and her Burmese husband Htein Lin, 55, an artist and former political prisoner, were detained on Wednesday.

One source with knowledge of the situation said Ms Bowman and her husband had been charged with immigration offences.

The arrest in Yangon comes as Britain said it is imposing fresh sanctions to target military-linked businesses in Myanmar and joining the case against Myanmar in the International Court of Justice.

Britain is the fourth country, after the Maldives, Netherlands and Canada, to vow formal support for the case brought by the Gambia against Myanmar to determine whether its military conducted genocidal operations against Rohingya Muslims in 2016 and 2017.

Three companies are being penalised with sanctions "in an effort to limit the military's access to arms and revenue", the British government said in a statement on Wednesday. A spokesman for the Myanmar junta did not answer repeated calls seeking comment.

Myanmar has been in political and economic chaos since the military overthrew an elected government in early 2021. More than 15,000 people have been arrested and 12,119 remain in detention, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an activist group.

A British embassy spokesman in Yangon said: "We are concerned by the arrest of a British woman in Myanmar. We are in contact with the local authorities and are providing consular assistance."

The spokesman did not name the individual.

REUTERS