Cambodia’s Hun Sen sorry for mix-up over release of jailed Australian academic Sean Turnell

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Monday that Myanmar’s military government had released an Australian economist detained for the past year, but Myanmar authorities denied his claim. Hun Sen later acknowledged his error.

In a morning speech marking the inauguration of a road, Hun Sen said Sean Turnell was released from detention on Sunday in response to a request by the Cambodian prime minister to Myanmar’s leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. Cambodia is the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Hun Sen is leading the group’s efforts to ease Myanmar’s violent political crisis.

Turnell, an associate professor in economics at Sydney’s Macquarie University, was arrested on February 6 last year following the army’s ousting of the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, whom he had been serving as adviser. He and Suu Kyi and three of her former cabinet ministers are now on trial on charges of breaching the Official Secrets Acts, which is punishable by up to 14 years’ imprisonment.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said late on Monday that Myanmar authorities had advised the agency that Turnell remains detained. Several news reports from Myanmar said Major-General Zaw Min Tun, a spokesman for the ruling military council, also denied that Turnell had been freed.