An imprisoned Australian newspaper publisher who appeared in court in Burma was told he would remain in jail until at least March 3, when he was scheduled to appear in court again, according to new.com.au. Ross Dunkley, editor of the Rangoon-based English-language weekly The Myanmar Times, was arrested on February 10 for allegedly violating Burmese immigration codes.
The case attracted significant attention in Southeast Asia at a time when many Western investors were eager to expand their presence in the resource-rich nation - but remain wary of dealing with the country's military-backed government. Associates of Dunkley maintained that the case was related to a long-running business dispute between the editor and his local business partner, who denied the disagreement.
Burma's government said little about the case publicly but indicated that in addition to immigration violations, Dunkley stood accused of assaulting a sex worker he met earlier this year. It was unclear whether he entered any plea at the hearing Thursday.
