The Zabuthiri Court in the capital Naypyidaw on Monday sentenced Myanmar’s de facto ruler and state counselor, Aung San Suu Kyi to four years in prison. She was held guilty of inciting dissent against the Myanmar military coup and violating Covid norms under a National disasters law.
76-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi was ousted and detained by the military 10 months ago. This is the first in a series of cases against the National League for Democracy leader. The Myanmar democracy icon is facing a total of 11 charges which can bring in a total imprisonment of 102 years.
Suu Kyi has been sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty of inciting public dissent against the military through a Facebook post and two years after being found guilty of violating section 25 of Disaster Management Law.
Co-defendant Win Myint, the former president and Ms. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party ally, has also been sentenced to 4 years in jail.
The charges against the Suu Kyi include several corruption charges, violating Covid-19 pandemic restrictions during the 2020 election campaign, incitement, illegally importing and possessing walkie talkies, and breaking the colonial-era Official Secrets Act.
Myanmar’s military junta had restricted the information about trials and a gag order was imposed on Suu Kyi’s team to prevent them from talking to the media.
Amnesty International called the charges “bogus”, saying “it was the latest example of the military’s determination to eliminate all opposition and suffocate freedoms in Myanmar”.
The verdict came a day after a military truck rammed into a group of Myanmar protestors in Yangon. At least five protestors were killed and eleven were arrested.
As per advocacy group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, More than 1,300 people have been killed by Myanmar security forces since the coup, and more than 10,000 arrested.
