Conflicts & War

Myanmar police file second charge against deposed leader Suu Kyi

Yangon, Myanmar, Feb 16 (efe-epa).- Myanmar police filed an additional charge Tuesday against the country’s former state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, ousted from power Feb. 1 in a military coup.

Suu Kyi’s lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw, told EFE the former leader is facing the charge of violating the country’s natural disaster management law.

The former leader, placed under house arrest in wake of the coup, charged with illegally importing walkie-talkie devices on Feb. 3, and is expected to appear Wednesday in court.

Suu Kyi, 75, spent 15 years under house arrest during the previous military regime, and could be sentenced to as many as three years in prison over the first charge.

The military rulers shut down the country’s internet Tuesday for the second consecutive day, while tanks and armed troops deployed on streets since Sunday have increased tension amid massive protests against the coup.

Security forces have used water cannons and fired live and rubber ammunition at protesters, a move criticized by the United States, the European Union and other countries that have also called for a return to democracy.

The coup followed a November election in which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won a landslide, but which the military says was fraudulent without providing any evidence.

A total of 426 people were detained amid the coup, 391 of whom are still in custody, according to figures released by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners organization. EFE-EPA

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