Kyaw Zwar Minn, Myanmar's ousted ambassador to the UK, has gone on trial in London facing trespassing charges. He is accused of refusing to leave a diplomatic residence after being locked out of the embassy in 2021.
Mr Minn appeared in a London court on Wednesday, charged with trespassing at a diplomatic residence between May 2021 and November 2024. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The former ambassador maintains that the current president, Min Aung Hlaing, is illegitimate and lacked the authority to ask him to vacate the property. Prosecutors argue that Myanmar authorities instructed Mr Minn to hand over state-owned properties in April 2021, and that the Foreign Office also told him to leave the residence, but he did not comply.
Prosecutors contend that his view of the Myanmar government, which is not formally recognised by most democratic countries including Britain, does not provide a defence. The court heard that his refusal to leave the diplomatic premises after his removal from the ambassadorial position constitutes the offence of diplomatic trespass.