Watch: Book launch: An Unlikely Prisoner by Lowy Institute Senior Fellow Sean Turnell

For 650 days, Sean Turnell was a prisoner of the military junta that has ruled Myanmar since 2021. Incarcerated in some of Myanmar’s most notorious prisons, isolated, ill-treated, and ultimately convicted in a sham trial of effectively being a spy, the descent from his role as chief economic adviser to Myanmar’s civilian government was a steep one. From helping to design policies to entrench democracy and help make Myanmar the last and best of the Asian ‘tigers’, his task became one of simple and desperate survival.

In An Unlikely Prisoner, Sean recounts how he not only survived his lengthy incarceration but left with his sense of humour intact and his spirit unbroken.

We were joined in conversation with the author, Dr Sean Turnell, moderated by Lowy Institute Research Director Hervé Lemahieu, with questions from the audience.

Dr Sean Turnell is a Senior Fellow in the Southeast Asia Program at the Lowy Institute, covering developments in Myanmar, the wider region, and international economic issues. Prior to his appointment as chief economic adviser to Myanmar’s civilian government, he was a Professor of Economics at Macquarie University, and a senior analyst at the Reserve Bank of Australia.