Ex-UK ambassador and her husband jailed for a year in Myanmar, reports say

Vicky Bowman and Htein Lin pictured in 2008. Their arrests came as the UK announced new sanctions against Myanmar. Photograph: Sarah Lee/the Guardian

Britain’s former ambassador to Myanmar and her husband, a prominent artist, have been sentenced to one year in prison by the country’s military-controlled courts, reports say.

Vicky Bowman, who was the ambassador in Myanmar from 2002 to 2006, and her husband, Htein Lin, a veteran democracy activist, were arrested last week in Yangon and accused of violating immigration laws.