Bar manager, associates get jail time for insulting Buddhism

A bar manager and his business associates were sentenced yesterday by a Myanmar court to two years and six months in prison for insulting Buddhism with an online advertisement that depicted Buddha wearing a set of headphones.
New Zealander Philip Blackwood, 32, Tun Thurein and Htut Ko Ko Lwin were given two years of hard labour for insulting religion and six months for disobeying an order from a public servant. As he got into a police van after sentencing, Blackwood said he would appeal.
The trial of V Gastro manager Blackwood, bar owner Tun Thurein and employee Htut Ko Ko Lwin came as the predominantly Buddhist nation grapples with a surge of religious nationalism - including violence against members of the minority Muslim community.
About half a dozen monks and hardline Buddhists gathered outside the Yangon court to hear the verdict.
"The verdict is fair. This punishment will deter others from insulting Buddhism or other religion," said Paw Shwe, a member of a Buddhist organisation.
The three, who were taken to Yangon's notorious Insein prison after sentencing, were arrested in December after the image was used to promote the tapas bar and lounge.
The online ad was removed and an apology was posted. Judge Ye Lwin said that although Blackwood posted the apology, he had "intentionally plotted to insult religious belief" when he uploaded the image.
About 90 per cent of Myanmar's people are Buddhist. Perceived insults to the religion are taken seriously, especially in the context of the religious-based violence in the past few years pitting Buddhists against Muslims.
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said the three men acted in a culturally insensitive way, but they should not be sent to prison.
"What this shows is freedom of expression is under greater threat than ever in Burma [Myanmar] just as the country heads into a pivotal election year," Robertson said.