Suu Kyi charged with violating Myanmar Covid-19 protocols
Bangkok, Apr 12 (EFE).- A court in Myanmar presented new charges Monday against Aung San Suu Kyi, the government leader deposed in the Feb. 1 coup, for allegedly violating protocols related to Covid-19, her lawyer said.
Suu Kyi, 75, under house arrest since the military uprising, appeared by videoconference before a court in Naypyitaw and is in good health, lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told reporters.
“Aung San Suu Kyi was charged further with one more offense under the same law and under the same section, [which is] the natural disaster management law, Section 25,” he said.
This new accusation, the sixth in total, is related to the law for the management of natural disasters, a charge similar to the one that was already charged in mid-February, the lawyer said.
The new case joins a string of charges brought against the former leader, including corruption, although this complaint has not yet been formalized by a court.
The most serious charge brought against the ousted leader is that of violating the Official Secrets Law, presented Apr. 1 in a Yangon court, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.
Suu Kyi also faces various crimes such as illegally importing walkie-talkies and threatening national security.
Her next hearing in the Yangon court is scheduled for Apr. 22, while she will appear in the Naipyidó court on Apr. 26.
Accusations have been strongly rejected by Suu Kyi’s lawyers, who spent 15 years under house arrest during the previous dictatorship and the succession of the military junta.
The process against Suu Kyi and other members of the elected government and the deposed president, Win Myint, is being held while security forces violently repress resistance movements demanding a return to democracy.
More than 700 people have died as a result of the brutal repression carried out by the authorities against the demonstrations in rejection of the armed forces, according data verified by the Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners.
The Myanmar Army justifies the coup on alleged electoral fraud in November’s elections, in which Suu Kyi’s party won a landslide, as it did in 2015, and which were considered legitimate by international observers. EFE
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