Myanmar: Sweden Sets Legal Precedent with Prosecution of Myanmar Teak Trader

Nov 15, 2016 | Mike Gaworecki, Mongabay
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A Swedish court upheld a ruling today that finds an importer of teak from Myanmar to be in violation of the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) — setting a legal precedent that conservationists hope will be followed across Europe. Sweden’s forest agency, Skogsstyrelsen, prosecuted the trader, Almtra Nordic, under the EUTR after an investigation found that the company could not demonstrate who harvested its timber or where it was cut prior to the company purchasing it from the state-operated Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE).