Myanmar's Suu Kyi jailed for four years, says govt spokesman

 

Aung San Suu Kyi faces a dozen cases that include multiple corruption charges. - AFP

YANGON, Dec 6, 2021 (AFP): A Myanmar court on Monday jailed ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi for four years for inciting dissent against the military and breaching Covid rules, a spokesman for the junta told AFP.

Suu Kyi "was sentenced to two years' imprisonment under section 505(b) and two years' imprisonment under natural disaster law", junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said.

A Myanmar court on Monday jailed ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi for four years for inciting dissent against the military and breaching Covid rules, a spokesman for the ruling junta told AFP.

Suu Kyi "was sentenced to two years' imprisonment under section 505(b) and two years' imprisonment under natural disaster law", junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said.

Former president Win Myint was also jailed for four years under the same charges, he said, adding that they would not yet be taken to prison.

"They will face other charges from the places where they are staying now" in the capital Naypyidaw, he added, without giving further details.

The 76-year-old Suu Kyi has been detained since the generals ousted her government in the early hours of February 1, ending Myanmar's brief democratic interlude.

The junta has since added a slew of other indictments, including violating the official secrets act, corruption and electoral fraud. The Nobel laureate faces decades in jail if convicted on all counts.

Journalists have been barred from proceedings in the special court in the military-built capital, and Suu Kyi's lawyers were recently banned from speaking to the media.

More than 1,300 people have been killed and over 10,000 arrested in a crackdown on dissent since the coup, according to a local monitoring group.

Earlier, Reuters reported that a court in Myanmar is due to deliver the first rulings on Monday (Dec 6) in the trial of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the popular former leader ousted by the military in a coup 10 months ago.

Suu Kyi faces a dozen cases that include multiple corruption charges plus violations of a state secrets Act, a telecoms law and Covid-19 regulations, which carry combined maximum sentences of more than a century in prison.

The verdicts are deferred from last week, with Ms Suu Kyi and co-defendant Win Myint, the ousted president, facing jail terms of two years for incitement and three years for breaches of coronavirus protocols, if found guilty. They deny the charges.

Supporters of Suu Kyi, 76, say the cases are baseless and designed to end her political career and tie her up in legal proceedings while the military consolidates power.

The junta says Ms Suu Kyi is being given due process by an independent court led by a judge appointed by her own administration.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the Feb 1 coup, paralysed by protests and instability that escalated after the junta's deadly crackdown on its opponents, which it calls "terrorists".

The international community has condemned the violence and Western states have demanded Suu Kyi's release.

The trial in the capital Naypyitaw has been closed to the media and the junta's public information outlets have not mentioned the proceedings.

Suu Kyi's lawyers have been barred from communicating with the media and public. - Star