Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen admitted an “unintentional mistake” on Monday in taking credit for helping to free an Australian in Myanmar whom the military government said was not being released.
Sean Turnell, an economic adviser to deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, was arrested on Feb. 6 last year, a few days after a coup, and is charged with breaching the Official Secrets Act, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Hun Sen, as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), had earlier said Turnell had been freed following his lobbying of Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing to let him go, at the request of Australia’s foreign minister.
