Myanmar junta confirms ex-UK ambassador investigated under Immigration Act

Myanmar's ruling military junta confirmed Thursday in a statement that former British ambassador Vicky Bowman is being investigated under the country's Immigration Act.

Bowman, who currently runs the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB), and her husband, Htein Lin, a Burmese artist and former political prisoner, were detained on Wednesday, three people with knowledge of the situation had said, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.

A source with knowledge of the situation said she and her husband had been charged with immigration offences. They had been remanded in custody and were being sent to Insein prison, the notorious jail on the outskirts of the commercial capital of Yangon where many political prisoners are held.

Myanmar has been in political and economic chaos since the military overthrew an elected government in early 2021. Thousands of dissidents have been arrested or detained and the military is fighting armed resistance across the country.

A British embassy spokesperson 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 spokesperson did not name the individual.

Bowman served as ambassador to Myanmar from 2002-2006 and has more than three decades' experience in the country.

Her husband Htein Lin is one of Myanmar's most famous artists and a veteran activist who spent six-and-a-half years, between 1998 and 2004, in prison for his opposition to an earlier junta.