Myanmar’s Suu Kyi on trial for alleged official secrets law breach

Bangkok, Jun 3 (EFE).- Myanmar’s Supreme Court said Thursday it was beginning proceedings to judge deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi over her alleged violation of the Official Secrets Law.

The first court session, in which the former leader faces a sentence of up to 14 years in prison, is scheduled to be held Monday in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw, Suu Kyi’s team of lawyers told EFE.

The ousted leader, 75, faces two different processes, that of the Supreme Court and another in a court in the capital where she is being tried on various charges such as the illegal importation of electronic devices, Covid-19 protocol breaches and incitement of hatred.

Suu Kyi, initially under house arrest at her official residence in the capital, has been transferred to an unknown place, as revealed earlier this week by the Government of National Unity, formed by allies of Suu Kyi and self-proclaimed as a legitimate government.

Lawyers of the democratic leader, who were able to meet with her for the first time on May 24, told EFE that since her arrest, Suu Kyi has lived in isolation and without news of what is happening in the country.

Myanmar’s MRTV public television showed that day the first images of the leader since the military uprising that overthrew the democratic government of Myanmar and that has plunged the country into a situation of chaos and repression.

She appeared in those images with a mask in the dock with deposed President Win Myint, and Myo Aung, also arrested on the day of the coup and who is being tried for various crimes.

More than 840 people have died since the coup due to the brutal repression of the security forces, according to figures from the Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners, which counts more than 5,600 detainees.

The Myanmar Army justifies the coup on alleged electoral fraud in November’s elections, in which Suu Kyi’s party won a landslide victory, as it did in 2015, and which were considered legitimate by international observers. EFE

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