Cambodia’s Hun Sen sorry for mix-up over release of jailed Australian academic Sean Turnell
- Sean Turnell was arrested in Myanmar in February last year following the military coup, and is charged with breaching the Officials Secrets Act
- Hun Sen said on Sunday that the former adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi had been released at his request, but later acknowledged his error
After a day of confusion, Hun Sen asked on his Facebook page to be forgiven for making a mistake, saying he had been given the wrong information.
Myanmar junta eyes return of tourism, investment despite coup
The statement issued in Canberra said “the Australian Government repeats its call for Professor Turnell’s immediate release, and for his rights and welfare to be upheld.”
“Professor Turnell’s detention is unjust, and we reject the allegations against him,” Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in a statement on Sunday marking the one-year anniversary of Turnell’s detention.
Hun Sen said he had asked Min Aung Hlaing on Saturday for Turnell’s release, and the Myanmar leader had replied that he “would consider it positively”.
A Cambodian Foreign Ministry statement confirmed that Hun Sen had erred, and said that he had raised Turnell’s case with the Myanmar leader “and received from the Senior General the assurance that the latter would reconsider the case once the court process is over”.
Hun Sen accused of undermining Asean with ‘cowboy diplomacy’ on Myanmar trip
According to Myanmar’s independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, there are more than 9,000 political detainees in Myanmar.
The most prominent, ousted leader Suu Kyi, is being tried on multiple charges and has already been sentenced to six years’ imprisonment. The cases against her are widely seen as an effort to prevent her from returning to political life.