A military-led court in Myanmar has sentenced Aung San Suu Kyi to seven years in prison for corruption, ending some secret and highly politicized proceedings against the deposed former leader, according to a source with knowledge of the case.
The 77-year-old democratically elected icon of resistance to decades of military dictatorship, who led Myanmar for five years before being removed from office in a bloody coup in early 2021, was given his final sentence on Friday.
According to the source Friday’s decision found Suu Kyi guilty of corruption in connection with the purchase, maintenance and rental of a helicopter for use in state activities and natural disasters, including rescues and crises.
According to the source, she now faces a total prison sentence of 33 years, including three years hard labor, and could spend the rest of her life in prison. According to sources, Suu Kyi has previously been found guilty of several crimes, including electoral fraud and taking bribes.
According to the source, she has consistently rejected all allegations against her, and her lawyers say they are all politically driven.
She is held in solitary confinement in a prison in the country’s capital, Naypyidaw. Her trials have been kept secret, with little information about them released by the official media and her lawyers are subject to a gag order.
Myanmar has been plagued by violence and economic stagnation since the army intervened to prevent Suu Kyi from forming a new government, three months after her party was re-elected in a landslide election against the army-backed opposition.
Meanwhile, since the military took over, rights organizations have repeatedly raised concerns about the country’s treatment of pro-democracy campaigners.
According to Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director for Human Rights Watch, “the sentences are intended to be both a permanent sideline (Suu Kyi) and an undermining and eventual invalidation of the landslide victory of her NLD (National League for Democracy) party in the November 2020 elections.”
The junta “Grabbed everything it could to fabricate cases against her, confident that the nation’s kangaroo tribunals would deliver whatever harsh sentences the military desired.”
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In its first resolution on the Southeast Asian nation since independence, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) urged the military junta to release all political prisoners, including Suu Kyi and former president Win Myintlast week.
Myanmar’s freedoms and rights have changed dramatically fell in the two years since the military took over. State executions are now taking place again and thousands of people have been detained for taking part in anti-military protests.
According to state media, the junta has been released more than 6,000 prisoners in November as part of an amnesty, including a former British ambassador, an economist from Australia and a journalist from Japan. Following the harsh condemnation of the junta at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting, the pardons were granted.
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