The Australian Human Rights Institute (AHRI) at UNSW Sydney has condemned today’s verdict in the case of Australian Professor Sean Turnell in Myanmar, with reports he has been sentenced to three years imprisonment in closed court proceedings.
Australian Human Rights Institute Associate and UNSW Law & Justice Professor Melissa Crouch said Professor Turnell’s case is political motivated and without justification. “From the beginning, it was clear that the military arrested Sean simply because of his close association with Aung San Suu Kyi, who is also in jail,” he said.
“The Myanmar military has failed to provide evidence to substantiate the charges brought against Sean for illegally possessing state secrets. He has done nothing wrong and deserves to be brought home quickly. “The Australian government must put more resources into securing his swift release”.
Since his arrest in February 2021, academics from across Australia have urged the Australian government to do more to secure Professor Turnell’s release. In 2021, an open letter signed by more than 500 academics, including those from UNSW Law & Justice, was sent to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In 2022, a parliamentary petition was signed by more than 1,300 people, calling on Parliament to appoint a special envoy to help secure Professor Turnell’s release.
“For nearly two years since being detained by the Myanmar military, Professor Turnell has been subject to unjust detention and impingement on his human rights,” said Professor Justine Nolan, Director of the AHRI.
“The recent arrest and reports of a one-year prison term for former British ambassador Vicky Bowman show that citizens and foreigners alike continue to be persecuted in Myanmar because of perceived political affiliations or criticism of the military government.The AHRI implores the Australian government to do more to support the efforts to return Myanmar to civilian rule.”
Professor Sean Turnell was an advisor to former Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and was arrested on 6 February 2021 following a coup where the Myanmar military seized power. He was put on trial for alleged breaches of Myanmar’s Official Secrets Act and pleaded not guilty.
Court proceedings were held in secret and lawyers were barred from speaking to media about the process. Australian officials were also blocked from attending court hearings.
Professor Turnell is an internationally-respected economist and an Honorary Professor of Economics at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. He has had a distinguished career in government, banking and academia, and since the early 2000s, he has worked on Myanmar economic and banking issues to assist with its economic reforms and growth.
Since the 2021 military coup in Myanmar, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners estimates that more than 2,300 people have been killed by the military, and more than 15,000 people have been arrested. There is widespread conflict and instability across the country and in many areas the military has failed to gain control in the face of strong resistance.
