A court in Mandalaly will rule tomorrow (October 6) on whether Dutch tourist Klaas Haijtema, 30, insulted religion and violated visa rules when he walked into a prayer hall late last month and unplugged an amplifier, according to media reports.
It is unclear how the case has moved so fast. Haijtema was arrested on September 23 and only a few hearings have been held.
He has apologized and said he was tired that night and didn’t grasp the religious significance of the event.
Because of the charges, he could face two years in prison and possibly additional time for violating immigration rules by not respecting local customs and taking off his shoes.
His lawyer, U Hla Ko, was quoted in the Myanmar Times saying his client, who he is representing pro bono, is not guilty.
“Number one, he had no intention [to insult] so he should not be convicted under section 295,” he reportedly said, referring to the article on offending religious sensibilities. “Number two, he did not destroy anything so, again, he should not be convicted.”
The prosecution was not as forgiving.
“I’d like to put forward an argument,” prosecutor U Sithu Swe Tun was quoted as saying. “The saying ‘ignorance of the law is no excuse.’”
Haijtema’s case has sparked a debate over the use of loudspeakers in the country, whether it be for religion or politics.
The Irrawaddy reported on Tuesday that loudspeaker usage requires prior approval and can only be used between 6pm and 9pm.
Haijtema, who said he was on his first trip to Myanmar, pulled the plug on the sermon around 10pm.
The case shares some parallels with an incident in late 2014 involving New Zealand bar manager Phil Blackwood.
He spent more than a year in Yangon’s Insein prison after he posted an image of the Buddha wearing headphones to promote a drinks deal at the bar where he worked. His two Myanmar colleagues, Tun Thurein and Htut Ko Ko Lwin, were also imprisoned.
The main charge was the same as in Haijtema’s trial.
They were all released in an amnesty in January.
A timeline of arrests and deportations resulting from offending religion in Myanmar
