Vicky Bowman and her husband, Htein Lin, a Burmese artist and former political prisoner, were arrested on Wednesday and charged with immigration offences, Reuters reported. They were taken into custody and sent to Insein prison, he added. At the time of her arrest, Bowman was working as the director of the Myanmar Center for Responsible Business (MCRB). She previously served as UK Ambassador to Burma from 2002-06. She also held roles in Brussels under former European Commissioner Chris Patten and as director of global and economic affairs at the UK Foreign Office. When appointed to the MCRB, Bowman was described as one of the “leading experts on Myanmar”. She said the role brought together her “two professional and personal passions”: Myanmar and responsible business. Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup on February 1 last year, leading to mass protests in Yangon and across the country. Bowman’s arrest comes after the UK released a statement marking the fifth anniversary of the Rohingya crisis and announced further sanctions targeting companies linked to the military. According to the Political Prisoners’ Aid Association, an organization that monitors human rights abuses in Burma, more than 15,000 people have been arrested as of August 24 and 12,000 remain in detention. A graduate in natural sciences (pathology) from the University of Cambridge and Burmese studies at SOAS University of London and a linguist, Bowman began her diplomatic career in 1990 as second secretary at the embassy in the south-east Asian country from 1990. -93. Bauman’s husband, Htein Lin, was arrested and imprisoned by the military government in 1998. In prison he secretly continued to paint, completing more than 1,000 works while serving his sentence. “It took me a year to start painting properly in prison. I had to befriend a jailer, who would bring me paint but no brushes. I had to find other things to paint,” Lynn said in 2008. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “In my cell I made an exhibition about the other 30 political prisoners. I had to pay the guard to let me do it and he gave me two hours,” he said. The couple has a 14-year-old daughter. A UK Foreign Office spokesman 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.”
