James Mawdsley
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James Rupert Russell Mawdsley is a Catholic Deacon in the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, who is also a human rights activist campaigning for democracy in Burma. He is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Australia.[1]
Contents
Early life
Mawdsley was born in 1973. His parents are David and Diana, and he has three siblings.[2] He gave up his study at Bristol University, and while backpacking met Burmese refugees who engaged his interest in the plight of ethnic minorities in Burma.[2]
Burmese activism and imprisonment
Mawdsley took up teaching English at a Burmese refugee camp, and became further involved when government forces burnt down the school.[1]
He was arrested three times for his involvement[2] and deported three times. The second arrest was in 1998 for handing out stickers and playing songs for the pro-democracy movement.[2] On arrest he was tortured for 15 hours,[2] and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment, which was suspended after 98 days.[1] He was rearrested a third time in 1999 for illegal entry and sedition, and was sentenced to seventeen years in jail.[1] His imprisonment was held to be arbitrary by the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in 2000.[3] This time he spent 415 days in solitary confinement before his release in October 2000 after pressure was exerted by the United Kingdom Foreign Office on the authorities in Myanmar.[4]
External activism and politics
In February 2003 he co-authored New Ground with Benedict Rogers, a pamphlet advocating foreign policy based around freedom, dignity and the rule of law. This document has helped give rise to the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission, founded in 2005.[5]
He stood for the European Parliament Election, 2004.[6] In the UK 2005 general election, he unsuccessfully contested the Hyndburn constituency for the Conservative Party.[7][8]
He wrote The Heart Must Break: the Fight for Democracy and Truth in Burma, published in the US as The Iron Road: A Stand for Truth and Democracy in Burma.[9][10]
Priestley Fraternity of St.Peter
He is now a Catholic transitional Deacon with the FSSP, currently serving at St Mary's Church, Warrington,[6] having studied to become a Priest at the FSSP seminary at Wigratzbad in Germany.[6]
See also
References
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- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 http://www.lms.org.uk/news-and-events/fssp-magazines/dowry-winter-no17
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External links
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