Parliamentary petition launched to appoint special envoy
(Click here to go directly to the petition)
Despite false starts earlier in the week—when Hun Sen mistakenly claimed to have secured Sean’s release from prison—yesterday saw the launch of a parliamentary petition to free Sean Turnell. This is a much more concrete step toward a meaningful intervention in Sean’s situation and an opportunity for readers of this site to help participate in his release.
We urge all readers of this site who are also Australian citizens (and not current members of Australian Parliament) to sign the petition. Please share it widely and help us collect as many signatures as we possibly can. Special envoys have been effective in securing the release of foreign political prisoners from Myanmar in the past, as demonstrated by the release of Danny Fenster in November 2021. For more on why a special envoy may be Sean’s best chance, see this release from the Australia Myanmar Institute or this editorial from Charlotte Galloway, former director of the Myanmar Research Centre at the Australian National University.