NZ PM Key weighs in on Blackwood case
“We have been doing some work on it. We have been looking at it, and we have been dealing with it,” Premier John Key said.
“We have been doing some work on it. We have been looking at it, and we have been dealing with it,” Premier John Key said.
New Zealand bar-restaurant manager has lost over 30 kg in weight and needs to take anti-depressants while in Insein Prison, says family.
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Amnesty International describes sentence as “ludicrous”, while International Commission of Jurists question its legal validity.
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New Zealander Phil Blackwood tells a Rangoon court he had no intention of insulting the Buddhist religion.
Four lawyers have refused to represent Phil Blackwood, a New Zealand citizen detained in Insein Prison on charges of insulting religion, because they believe the case is “too sensitive”.
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Klaas Haijtema, 30, is alleged to have walked into a dharma hall during chanting, with his shoes on. He then pulled out the plug connected to the speaker.
Burma freed 101 political prisoners last week, bringing the number of political detainees released by Thein Sein to more than 1,200 under his reign.
Watch today’s top stories with Angus Watson.
The release, which included several high-profile prisoners of conscience, comes after recent pressure on the Burmese government from the United States, as well as rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Phil Blackwood, a New Zealand national incarcerated in Rangoon’s Insein Prison since December 2014, was released in a Presidential Amnesty on Friday.
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The case of Phil Blackwood, Tun Thurein and Htut Ko Ko Lwin has highlighted the issue of blasphemy and Buddhism. Buddhist scholar Dr Paul Fuller comments.
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Jailed for religious defamation, New Zealander Phil Blackwood is the sole foreigner on Amnesty International’s list of 91 prisoners of conscience in Burma.
Watch today’s top stories with Sonya Carassik Ratty.
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New Zealander Phil Blackwood, and his Burmese partners Tun Thurein and Htut Ko Ko Lwin are each found guilty of defaming religion.
Watch today’s top stories with Angus Watson.
“I have faith in the judge and judicial system, and I trust that the judge has the strength and integrity to only focus on the facts of the case and to ignore outside influences,” says Blackwood.
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Government dept denies rumours it wants to sue the controversial Buddhist monk Wirathu after he called the UN Rapporteur Yanghee Lee a “whore.”
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Phil Blackwood, 33, remains incarcerated in Rangoon’s notorious Insein Prison, accused of offending religion.
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Amnesty International has called on Burma’s authorities to immediately and unconditionally release three restaurant managers charged with insulting the Buddhist religion.
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Three Rangoon nightclub managers will face trial on charges of insulting Buddhism, a court in Bahan Township decided on Thursday.
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Those taking offence might also be prompted to reflect on the centrality of the idea of non-attachment and understand that their resentment is a hindrance upon the Buddhist path.
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Three men, including a New Zealander, are charged under Burma’s Religion Act after posting a picture of Buddha as part of nightclub marketing.
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A New Zealander is appearing in a Rangoon court after being arrested for using an image of the Buddha wearing headphones in a bar promotion.