Myanmar court sentences Suu Kyi to 4 years in jail
Bangkok Desk, Dec 6 (EFE).- Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced on Monday to four years in prison in the first verdicts of a series of charges she has been facing since February’s military coup.
In a Naypyidaw court, 76-year-old Suu Kyi was sentenced to two years in jail for incitement and two years for violating Covid-19 protocols under the Disaster Management Law, a source close to the case told Efe.
Deposed president Win Myint was also given four years under the same charges, and former Naypyidaw mayor Myo Aung was sentenced to two years for incitement, said the source, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal.
Around a dozen charges have been filed by the military junta against the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, including allegations of corruption, unlawful possession of walkie-talkies and violating the Official Secrets Act, all punishable by various lengths of time in jail.
She denies all charges, but little is known about the closed-door proceedings. In October, her lawyers were issued with gag orders forbidding them from releasing information.
It is not yet known if the three have been sent to prison, and if so, where.
The United Nations and numerous governments such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and the European Union have called for the release of Suu Kyi and others detained by the military junta led by General Min Aung Hlaing.
The Feb. 1 coup plunged Myanmar into a deep political, social and economic crisis and spurred the formation of new civilian militias to fight the military, exacerbating the decades-long internal conflict.
The junta justifies the coup by alleging electoral fraud during the general election of November 2020, the result of which it has since annulled, but in which Suu Kyi’s party won by a landslide with the endorsement of international observers.
At least 1,303 people have died since the coup as a result of the crackdown by security forces, according to the daily reports of the Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners, with more than 10,000 arrests. EFE
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