Myanmar sentences ex-British envoy to 1-year prison term

By GRANT PECK
Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — A court in military-ruled Myanmar has sentenced a former British ambassador to the Southeast Asian nation to a year in prison for failing to register her residence. A government spokesperson says former envoy Vicky Bowman’s husband, a Myanmar national, was also given a one-year sentence for the same offense. The couple were arrested on Aug. 24. The military government says Bowman, who served as ambassador in 2002-2006, was detained for failing to inform the authorities last year of their change of address. She has since 2013 been heading the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business, a consultancy which endorses human rights.