Myanmar Junta Court Jails Aung San Suu Kyi for Four Years

On Monday, Myanmar’s former leader Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to four years in prison for inciting hatred and violating coronary syncytial virus restrictions. In this case, her supporters were quick to call it politically motivated.

This verdict is one of many possible sentences that could lead to the Nobel laureate spending decades in prison.

President Win Myint was also jailed for four years after the court’s verdicts against the democratically elected leaders who had been detained after the military coup.

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In February, the generals ousted Suu Kyi’s government from power, ending the country’s brief period of democracy. She has been held in detention since then.

As a result, she has been charged with violating the official secrets act, corruption, and electoral fraud. If convicted on all counts, she could face decades in jail.

According to junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun, Suu Kyi was sentenced Monday to two years for inciting the military. He was also sentenced to another two years for breaching a natural disaster law related to Covid.

It was also reported that former president Win Myint was jailed for four years on the same charges. However, the spokesman added that they had not yet been placed in prison.

Myanmar Junta Court to hand down further rulings

Further charges are pending against them in the places where they are now being held, he added, referencing their detention in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, but without elaborating.

Statements published by her National League for Democracy party condemning the generals’ coup led to their conviction for incitement.

The sentences against Suu Kyi were immediately condemned by Amnesty International.

It appears that the military is determined to eliminate all opposition and stifle freedoms in Myanmar, as evidenced by the harsh sentences handed down to Aung San Suu Kyi on these bogus charges, said Ming Yu Hah, Amnesty’s deputy regional director for campaigns in Myanmar.

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Since the military coup in February, more than 1,300 people have been killed and thousands arrested thanks to this court’s farcical and corrupt decisions.

Richard Horsey, the Myanmar Senior Advisor at the International Crisis Group, believes it would be surprising if she were imprisoned. She will most likely serve out this and subsequent sentences under house arrest.

In defending its coup, Myanmar’s military has claimed fraud in last year’s general election, which Suu Kyi’s party easily won.
Pressure from abroad to restore democracy swiftly has not deterred Myanmars’ generals. The country continues to be racked with bloody clashes with protesters opposed to the coup.