Burma. Former leader Aung San Suu Kyi indicted on corruption charges

Former Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi, overthrown by a military coup, has been charged with corruption, the official newspaper The Global New Light of Myanmar reported on Thursday.

The former de facto head of the civilian government is notably accused of having perceived “600,000 dollars and several kilos of gold” bribes. She is also being prosecuted for the misuse of land for the charitable foundation Daw Khin Kyi, which she chaired.

“Absurd accusations”

Aung San Suu Kyi “Was found guilty of committing acts of corruption using her position. She was therefore charged under article 55 of the anti-corruption law ”, specifies the newspaper.

“These accusations are absurd”, told AFP one of his lawyers, Khin Maung Zaw. “The goal is to keep her away from the (political) scene of the country and to tarnish her image”.

Arrested on the morning of February 1, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate already faces numerous charges ranging from illegal possession of walkie-talkies to inciting public disturbance and violating a law on human rights. state secrets.

If found guilty, she can be banned from political life and face long years in prison. Two trials are already scheduled in the capital Naypyidaw, the first to start on June 14.

Economy paralyzed by strikes

The 75-year-old former leader may be called to appear in Yangon at a later date for the section concerning the violation of the text on state secrets.

To justify its coup, the junta alleged massive fraud in the legislative elections of November 2020, won by the party of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Almost daily demonstrations, economy paralyzed by strikes, resurgence of clashes between the army and rebel ethnic factions: Burma has been in turmoil since this putsch which ended a democratic parenthesis of 10 years.

The protest movement is bloodily suppressed by the security forces who have killed in recent months nearly 860 civilians, including women and children, according to the Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners (AAPP).

Nearly 5,000 people have been taken into custody, as NGOs denounce cases of extrajudicial executions, torture or violence against women.

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