Myanmar junta sentences Suu Kyi to three more years in prison
Bangkok, Oct 12 (EFE).- A military court in Myanmar sentenced deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi to another three years in prison Wednesday after finding her guilty of two corruption cases, sources close to the process told EFE.
Suu Kyi, 77, is detained in a Naypyidaw prison and now faces 26 years in prison, after she was found guilty of various charges after the February 2021 military coup that ousted Myanmar’s elected government.
As sources related to the trial told EFE, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, who faces yet more trials, was sentenced to three years in prison for each of the two crimes, but will be able to serve the sentences simultaneously.
The cases refer to a complaint filed by the police in February accusing Suu Kyi of allegedly misappropriating some $500,000 donated between 2019 and 2020 to a foundation she chaired at the time.
Suu Kyi, imprisoned since the military coup, faces other trials, all held behind closed doors, and is accused, among other charges, of allegedly abusing her position for the rental of land and for the purchase and rental of helicopters.
The legal representatives of the ousted leader have denied all charges.
The former leader and her former economic adviser, Australian Sean Turnell, were sentenced two weeks ago to three years in prison for violating the Official Secrets Act, although the junta didn’t specify the details of the crime.
The coup plunged the country into a deep political, social and economic crisis, which opened a spiral of violence and repression and led to the imprisonment of people opposed to the regime.
The army justifies the coup on alleged fraud during the November 2020 elections, the result of which was annulled and in which Suu Kyi’s party won a landslide victory, as it did in 2015, with the endorsement of international observers.
Since the military uprising, more than 2,340 people have died due to violent repression by security forces, who have shot to kill peaceful and unarmed protesters, and the number of people arrested exceeds 15,800, according to data from the NGO Myanmar Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners. EFE
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