A Burmese court on Monday (December 6th) sentenced former civilian government chief Aung San Suu Kyi to four years in prison for inciting public unrest and violating health rules related to Covid-19, the agency told France-Presse (AFP) a spokesperson for the junta.
The Nobel Peace Prize “Was sentenced to two years in prison under section 505 (b) and two years in prison under the Natural Disasters Act”Zaw Min Tun told AFP.
Former President Win Myint was given the same sentence, he said, adding that they would not be taken to jail for the time being. “They will have to face other charges from the places where they are currently staying” in the capital, Naypyidaw, he added, without giving further details.
76-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained since generals overthrew her government in the early hours of 1er February, thus ending a brief democratic parenthesis in Burma.
Multiplication of charges
The junta has regularly piled up the charges against it, including violation of the law on official secrets, corruption and electoral fraud. She faces decades in prison if convicted on all counts. The next verdict for another violation of the law, on natural disasters, is due on December 14.
Hearings are held in camera. Neither the junta nor the official press release information about the trials against Aung San Suu Kyi, whose supporters denounce political maneuvering. Suu Kyi’s lawyers were recently banned from speaking to the media.
International reactions
The UK government has expressed concern. “The conviction of Aung San Suu Kyi is another appalling attempt by the military regime in Burma to stifle opposition and suppress freedom and democracy. The United Kingdom calls on the regime to release political prisoners, to engage in dialogue and to allow a return to democracy ”British Foreign Minister Liz Truss said in a statement.
The sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi “In a rigged trial with secret proceedings in a military-controlled court is nothing but politically motivated”, denounced Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She believes that it is not only the denial of the freedom of the Nobel Peace Prize, but that this condemnation “Also closes a door to political dialogue”.
“The heavy sentences imposed on Aung San Suu Kyi on the basis of these bogus accusations are the latest example of the military’s determination to eliminate all opposition and to suffocate freedoms in Burma”, wrote the human rights NGO Amnesty International in a statement.
According to a local human rights NGO, more than 1,300 people have been killed and more than 10,000 arrested as part of the crackdown on dissent since the coup.