Myanmar Court Jails New Zealand Man for Insulting Buddha
19 October 2018 15:40 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A New Zealand bar manager and his business associates were sentenced Tuesday by a Myanmar court to two years and six months in prison for insulting Buddhism over an online advertisement that showed a psychedelic depiction of Buddha wearing headphones.
Blackwood, 32, Tun Thurein and Htut Ko Ko Lwin were given two years of hard labor for insulting religion and six months for disobeying an order from a public servant.
After the sentencing, Blackwood told reporters as he was getting into a police van that he would appeal.
The trial of V Gastro manager Blackwood, bar owner Tun Thurein and employee Htut Ko Ko Lwin came as the predominantly Buddhist nation grapples with a surge of religious nationalism — including violence against members of the minority Muslim community.
About half a dozen monks and hard line Buddhists gathered outside the Yangon court to hear the verdict.
The three were arrested in December after the image was used to promote the tapas bar and lounge, and have been detained in Myanmar's notorious Insein prison. The online ad was removed and an apology was posted.
About 90 percent of Myanmar's people are Buddhist. Perceived insults to the religion are taken seriously, especially in the context of the religious-based violence in the past few years pitting Buddhists against Muslims.
AP
