The Australian government has spoken out against the three-year prison term imposed on Sean Turnell in Yangon.
Myanmar's junta sentenced the Australian economist to three years in prison for breaking the Official Secrets Act while also handing down another conviction to ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, drawing global condemnation on Thursday.
In a statement following Turnell's conviction, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong rejected the charges and urged his "immediate release".
She said the economist was tried in a "closed court" and Australian officials had made "every effort to attend the verdict but were denied access".
"We will continue to take every opportunity to advocate strongly for Professor Turnell until he has returned to his family in Australia," she added.
Turnell's wife Ha Vu said her family was devastated over the news.
"It's heartbreaking for me, our daughter, Sean's 85-year-old father and the rest of our family," she said in a statement.
"My husband has already been in a Myanmar prison for almost two-thirds of his sentence. Please consider the contributions that he has made to Myanmar, and deport him now," she added.
The United States also strongly condemned the verdict.
"We call for Mr Turnell's immediate release and for him to be allowed to return to Australia and to reunite with his family," State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said the convictions demonstrated the junta had "no qualms about their international pariah status".
"Concerted action" from the international community was needed "to turn the human rights situation around in the country", she said.
Amnesty International's Tim O'Connor said Turnell was denied a fair trial and adequate access to legal counsel and consular assistance.
"The proceedings have been an outright sham and Myanmar's military must immediately release Turnell so he can return to his family in Australia," he said.
Turnell's friend and fellow economist Tim Harcourt expressed disappointment over the verdict.
"I do hope that like Danny Fenster, he'll be deported in the coming days," he told AFP, referring to a US journalist who received an 11-year prison sentence and was pardoned and deported last year.
AFP
