Reuters
ANNOUNCEMENTS•
Deposed Burmese government leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been convicted again of corruption. This time she was sentenced to seven years in prison by the country’s army-led court. Win Myint, president of Suu Kyi’s government, was sentenced to the same sentence.
It was the latest in a series of trials against Suu Kyi. The 77-year-old democratically elected head of government has now been sentenced to a total of 33 years in prison in nineteen cases.
The case which concluded today revolved around five allegations of corruption. One of them revolves around a helicopter: Suu Kyi abused his position in the eyes of the court by allowing a cabinet member to buy that plane. The deposed head of government contradicts the allegations and his lawyers should appeal.
The lawsuits against Suu Kyi, according to human rights groups, are intended to silence her ahead of elections, which the army has promised for 2023. The hearings were not open to journalists, diplomats and the public. Also, the lawyers are not allowed to comment on the case in the media.
Walkie-talkie
Suu Kyi was previously convicted of sedition, breach of crown rules and fraud in the 2020 election, which she won convincingly. There has never been any evidence of electoral fraud. She was also penalized for importing and possessing walkie-talkies.
Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, was deposed during the February 2021 military coup and placed under house arrest. Her trial began in June of that year. Since last summer you have been in solitary confinement in a prison in the capital Naypyidaw.
The regional branch of human rights organization Human Rights Watch calls the court sentences “absurd” and says the judge’s sentences amount to life in prison. The organization is calling on the international community to impose sanctions that affect the junta’s oil and gas revenues.
