The former Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi, overthrown by a military coup and repeatedly charged by the junta, appeared Tuesday, June 15 in court for sedition.
Various legal proceedings
The politically motivated trial, according to many observers, is being held behind closed doors in a tightly guarded court specially set up in the capital Naypyidaw.
Arrested on the morning of February 1 and since then under house arrest, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, ” in good health “ according to his lawyers, faces various legal proceedings.
She has been appearing in court since Monday for illegally importing walkie-talkies, breaching coronavirus restrictions and violating a telecommunications law.
Tuesday, a second part opened for sedition, a procedure in which it is continued alongside the former President of the Republic Win Myint.
The 75-year-old former de facto head of the Burmese government is also charged with violating a colonial-era state secrets law and with bribery, accused of collecting more than half a million dollars and ten kilos of gold in bribes. No trial date has been brought forward for these two charges, the heaviest against him.
A political trial?
According to many observers, these accusations are motivated solely by political considerations: to neutralize Aung San Suu Kyi, icon of democracy under previous military regimes and big winner of the 2015 and 2020 elections.
She hasn’t been able to defend herself in court yet, but “She is resistant […] and be confident “, noted Min Min Soe, one of his lawyers.
The day before, another of his lawyers, Khin Maung Zaw, had nevertheless said “Prepare for the worst”, denouncing accusations “Absurd”.
She faces long years in prison if found guilty.
A country in turmoil
This first trial takes place as Burma has been in turmoil since the coup d’état with demonstrations, massive strikes that paralyze part of the economy and an upsurge in violence between the army and several rebel ethnic factions.
More than 860 civilians have been killed by security forces in recent months, according to the Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners (AAPP).
Aung San Suu Kyi has already spent more than 15 years under house arrest under previous military dictatorships, before being released in 2010 and taking the head of the country five years later.
Its image had been considerably tarnished in recent years following the tragedy of the Rohingya Muslims who fled in 2017 by the hundreds of thousands the abuses of the army to take refuge in neighboring Bangladesh.
The fact that she has become a political prisoner again and the trial that has opened could be a game-changer again.
Hearings are scheduled to resume next week.
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