While locked up in solitary confinement, Sean Turnell says he wondered how 'a mild-mannered little professor from Australia' could end up 'in one of South-East Asia's most notorious prisons'.
"The physical environment was horrible," he said."It was a concrete cell with old rusty iron bars, completely open to the elements. And it was open to the elements in Yangon, which means monsoon, means incredible heat. It means insects, rats, these horrible big scorpions that will come into the cell.
The unwavering constant throughout Mr Turnell's experience was the support of his wife, Ha Vu, who he says "rose to the occasion extraordinarily" in her efforts to secure his release. "I used to think of her and have a conversation with her in those moments ... and she has a very distinct way of expressing things, so it was literally her voice [that] would come to me."Sean Turnell with Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade head of mission in Myanmar, Angela Corcoran, after his release.
By now Mr Turnell, whose health was worsening, had been transferred to a prison in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw for the duration of his trial.
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