A closed court in the capital Naypyidaw on Thursday convicted the Nobel peace laureate along with Sean Turnell, an emeritus professor of economics at Macquarie University in Sydney, of breaching the country’s official secrets law, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. The couple pleaded not guilty last month. Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed Turnell’s conviction to the Financial Times. Turnell also faces charges of violating the country’s immigration law. Penny Wong, Australia’s foreign minister, called for Turnell’s immediate release. “The Australian Government has consistently denied the allegations against Professor Turnell during the more than 19 months he was wrongfully detained by the Myanmar military regime,” it said in a statement. Aung San Suu Kyi, 77, has already been sentenced to 20 years in prison on multiple charges including corruption and incitement against the junta. He received a three-year sentence with hard labor earlier this month for election fraud. Turnell, who previously worked at the Reserve Bank of Australia, was arrested in the wake of the February 2021 coup in which the military overthrew the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Earlier this month, a military court sentenced former UK ambassador Vicky Bowman and her husband, dissident artist Htein Lin, to a year in prison for immigration offences. Ha Vu, Turnell’s wife, called the verdict “heartbreaking” and called on authorities to free and deport him. “Sean has been one of Myanmar’s biggest supporters for more than 20 years and has worked tirelessly to strengthen Myanmar’s economy,” he said.
