Myanmar
Suu Kyi sentenced to further prison term for election fraud
A court controlled by the military junta in Myanmar has sentenced the ousted Prime Minister Aung San Suu Kyi to another three years in prison. photo
© Peter Dejong/AP/dpa
In the past few months, the ousted Prime Minister Aung San Suu Kyi has already been sentenced to a total of 17 years in prison for various offences. Now there are more penalties.
A court controlled by the military junta in Myanmar has sentenced the ousted Prime Minister Aung San Suu Kyi to another three years in prison. In addition, the 77-year-old had to do forced labor during this period, judicial circles confirmed on Friday of the German Press Agency. The case concerned alleged electoral fraud. Further details were not initially known.
In the past few months, the Nobel Peace Prize winner had already been sentenced to a total of 17 years in prison for various offenses – including corruption, incitement to riot and violation of corona measures. She had already spent many years under house arrest under the former military dictatorship in Myanmar (formerly: Burma). At that time she became an icon of the democracy movement. In 1991 she received the Nobel Prize.
Suu Kyi has been in solitary confinement in a prison in the capital Naypyidaw since June after being placed under house arrest following the February 2021 military coup. The proceedings take place behind closed doors. Suu Kyi’s lawyers are not allowed to speak to the media. Human rights activists speak of a show trial.
The generals staged a coup in February 2021. They justified the coup with alleged fraud in the November 2020 election, which Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party had clearly won. They presented no evidence. Since then, the former Burma has descended into chaos and violence. According to the prisoner aid organization AAPP, more than 2,250 people have been killed and more than 15,000 arrested since the coup.