A Myanmar
court has sentenced a New Zealand bar manager and his two business associates
to two years and six months in prison for insulting Buddhism.
The trio was
convicted on Tuesday for posting a flyer on social media that showed a psychedelic
depiction of Buddha wearing headphones.
Phillip
Blackwood, 32, Tun Thurein, 40, and Htut Ko Ko Lwin, 26, were given two years
for insulting religion and six months for disobeying an order from a public
servant.
The three
were arrested in December after the image was used on Facebook to promote the
tapas bar and lounge, and sparked outrage on social media.
The online
ad was removed and an apology was posted, but the three men were detained in
Myanmar's notorious Insein prison.
In a
statement sent to Al Jazeera, Amnesty International demanded that the
conviction "be overturned immediately," adding that the case "is
a chilling indication of the growing climate of religious intolerance in the
country."
Judge Ye
Lwin said that although Blackwood posted an apology, he had "intentionally
plotted to insult religious belief" when he uploaded the photo.
He added
that it was "unreasonable only to blame the foreigner" when
explaining the guilty verdicts for Tun Thurein and Htut Ko Ko Lwin.
Blackwood's
parents, however, told Fairfax Media from their New Zealand home that they were
shocked by the decision.
"We
hoped common sense would prevail and he would be found not guilty because it
was not a malicious or intentional act.’’
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