Support sought for man accused of religious offences

Philip Blackwood with his partner Noemi Stephannie G Almo.

The mother of Philip Blackwood, the Wellington man accused of religious offences in Myanmar, has put out a Facebook appeal for character references.

Angela Blackwood has used the social media platform to thank supporters of the bar manager, who is being held in the notorious Insein Prison in Yangon.

"We are looking at using some of this support as evidence towards Phil's character," she wrote.

"If there are any of Phil's old school friends that were involved with Phil in his charity support events at college could they message me."

Blackwood, 32,  and two local business partners were accused of religious offences after posting an image of Buddha wearing headphones on social media to promote their VGastro bar, on December 10.

The Buddha with headphones image was removed quickly from VGastro's Facebook page and the bar apologised for any offence it may have caused.

Blackwood denied the charges in a court appearance last week.

"I had no intention at all of insulting religion," Blackwood said.

"I only did it for promotional purposes for my shop. I'm not guilty."

Asked by the prosecutor whether he knew the law before entering the country, Blackwood said he did not fully understand the legal system.

"I'm not guilty as I honestly posted it without knowing this problem could occur," he said, according to the judge.

News agency AFP reports the trio face possible jail terms if found guilty of breaching the Myanmar's religion act.

Anyone who tries to insult, destroy or damage any religion can be jailed for up to two years, with another two-year penalty for those who try to insult religion through the written word.

 - Dominion Post

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