Suu Kyi’s lawyer calls corruption charges against her ‘absurd’
Bangkok, Jun 10 (EFE).- One of the lawyers of the ousted Myanmar leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, on Thursday described as “absurd” the latest corruption charges levelled by the military junta against the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
“These accusations of bribery and corruption upon DASSK (Suu Kyi) are absurd. They are groundless. In my experience of fifty years as a political analyst and political activist I’ve never met any statesman more honest and incorruptible as DASSK. She might have defects but personal greed and corruption are not her traits,” Khin Maung Zaw told EFE.
The Anti-Corruption Commission, controlled by the military junta since the coup on Feb. 1, filed complaints with the police against Suu Kyi on Wednesday for allegedly receiving bribes and taking advantage of her position to rent land at a better price, state-run newspaper Global New Light of Myanmar said on Thursday.
The commission also accused Suu Kyi of misusing her authority to rent public land in Yangon and two lands in Naypyidaw at a lower price, causing losses to the treasury of 24.2 billion kyat ($14.68 million).
The agency also said that Suu Kyi used funds raised in donations for a foundation that she chairs to build a residence and that she accepted $600,000 and 11.2 kilograms of gold in bribes.
Suu Kyi’s lawyer, who learned of the fresh charges against her from media, said that “those who accuse her of greed and corruption are spitting towards the sky.”
According to the official media, the commission also filed complaints against the former governor of Naypyidaw, Myo Aung, and two other local politicians.
Suu Kyi, who faces six charges in two legal proceedings, has been under arrest since the military coup that removed her from power.
The trial against her is scheduled to begin on Monday in a special court in the capital.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate faces five charges, including having unlicensed imported telephone devices, violating coronavirus restrictions, and intent to raise alarm and cause public unrest.
Suu Kyi also faces another trial in the Supreme Court, in which she has been charged with allegedly violating the Official Secrets Act, the most serious charge she has faced since the coup and that carries a sentence of up to 14 years in prison.
The military has justified the coup citing alleged fraud in the November elections, in which Suu Kyi’s party repeated its landslide victory of 2015, even though international observers deemed the polls free and fair. EFE
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