A human rights activist who was jailed for more than a year in Burma has been ordained as a Catholic priest.

Fr James Mawdsley was freed in 2000 after 415 days in solitary confinement. Fr Mawdsley was sentenced to serve 17 years in Insein jail for protesting against the Burmese government’s slaughter of ethnic minorities. He was released after his family’s campaign efforts.

Fr Mawdsley said he had a difficult time while incarcerated, at one point sustaining a broken nose and two black eyes after a severe beating from one of his guards.