Myanmar junta detains former UK ambassador Vicky Bowman
The United Kingdom’s former ambassador to Myanmar has reportedly been detained by the country’s military junta.
Vicky Bowman was taken into custody along with her husband, Myanmar national Htein Lin, on Wednesday night, according to local media outlets and a person in Yangon with knowledge of the situation.
Myanmar’s military government has not announced the detentions. However, local news outlets and the reported Bowman could be charged under the country’s Immigration Act.
It was reported Bowman and Htein Lin are being held in Yangon’s Insein Prison.
A UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said on Thursday the British government is “concerned” by the arrest of a “British woman” in Myanmar.
“We are in contact with the local authorities and are providing consular assistance,” the spokesperson said.
Bowman served as the UK’s top diplomat in Myanmar from 2002 to 2006 and has since remained in the country as the founder of the non-government organisation Myanmar Center for Responsible Business.
Agencies