BANGKOK — A Swiss citizen was arrested in military-ruled Myanmar for creating a movie that allegedly insulted Buddhism, state media reported Saturday.
Didier Nusbaumer, 52, was arrested on Aug. 8 together with 13 Myanmar nationals, together with a 12-year-old lady, Myanma Alinn newspaper mentioned.
Insulting Buddhism is a punishable offense in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, the place spiritual nationalism has surged in recent times. About 90% of Myanmar persons are Buddhist.
The information report mentioned that Nusbaumer wrote, filmed and edited the 75-minute film “Don’t Expect Anything,” which was posted on YouTube on July 24. Short clips from the film unfold on social media together with on TikTok and Facebook, drawing rebukes from Buddhist nationalists in Myanmar.
“Although the people in the film’s main roles are Buddhist, they behaved inappropriately and degraded the dignity and morals of monks through their physical gestures and dialogue,” the media report mentioned.
The report didn’t say the place any of the suspects had been being held.
Myanmar has been dominated by its military since February 2021, when it seized energy from the democratically elected authorities of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Nusbaumer will not be the primary foreigner to be detained in Myanmar after being accused of insulting Buddhism.
In March 2015, a New Zealand citizen who was arrested with two Myanmar nationals was sentenced to 2 1/2 years imprisonment with onerous labor for insulting Buddhism in a web based commercial that confirmed a psychedelic depiction of Buddha carrying DJ-style headphones. He was deported the next yr.
In October 2016, a Dutch vacationer was jailed for 3 months with onerous labor for insulting Buddhism after he unplugged a loudspeaker utilized by Buddhist monks to broadcast a late-night sermon within the nation’s second-largest metropolis, Mandalay. He was deported after serving his jail time period.
In the identical yr, a Spanish vacationer was deported from Myanmar after authorities discovered a tattoo of Buddha on his leg.
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