Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi to face more corruption charges as UN urges reconciliation
By Team Newsable | First Published Jul 13, 2021, 10:24 AM ISTThe Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been held since the military seized power in a February 1 coup and is on trial in the capital, Naypyidaw, over charges that include illegal importation and possession of walkie-talkie radios and violating coronavirus protocols under a disaster management law.
Lawyers for ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi said they have been informed by the military-installed government that four new charges of corruption have been filed against her as the United Nations called for reconciliation in the violence-wracked Southeast Asian nation.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s legal team had little information about the latest charges, except that they relate to corruption and that two were also levelled at Min Thu, a former minister in her government, lawyer Min Min Soe told the Reuters news agency on Monday.
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“There are corruption charges. We do not know why do they sue? Or for what reasons? We will find out about it,” she said.
The new cases could see Aung San Suu Kyi, 76, tied up in legal proceedings in three different cities. She is charged also in a Yangon court, accused of unspecified breaches of the Official Secrets Act, punishable by a maximum of 14 years in jail.
The military overthrew Suu Kyi’s elected government in February and arrested her and top members of her National League for Democracy party, including President Win Myint. Widespread popular resistance against the military takeover is continuing, despite harsh measures by the security forces to quash it.
Since the takeover, the new government has filed a number of criminal charges against Suu Kyi, who is in detention, and several of her colleagues.
Suu Kyi’s supporters as well as independent analysts say all of the charges are politically motivated and an attempt to discredit her and legitimize the military’s seizure of power.
Aung San Suu Kyi was barred from the presidency because her late husband and children have foreign citizenship. After her party won the country’s first election, she was appointed to a new role – state counsellor – and served in that position as the country’s de facto leader before the generals grabbed power.
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