Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi jailed for four more years
Suu Kyi was convicted with two charges for incitement and breaching COVID-19 protocols while campaigning and was sentenced to four years in jail
Follow
A Myanmar court on Monday sentenced Aung San Suu Kyi to four years in prison after she was found guilty of illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies and violating the Covid-19 restrictions.
Last December, Suu Kyi was convicted with two charges for incitement and breaching Covid-19 protocols while campaigning and was sentenced to four years in jail. However, it was split in two years; and the leader was allowed to serve her term under house arrest in the city's capital Naypyidaw.
The Nobel laureate has been detained since February 1 when her government was forced out in an early morning coup, ending Myanmar's short-lived experiment with democracy.
Monday's charge of possession of walkie-talkies derives from when soldiers raided Suu Kyi's residence on February 1, 2021. The media reports suggest they allegedly discovered the contraband equipment.
Immediately the Suu Kyi's government was dismissed by the military junta. Myanmar witnessed large protests against the military rule, with the security forces restoring to mass detentions and bloody crackdowns. Around 1,400 civilians lost their lives.
The Nobel laureate has been booked under many other indictments, including violating the official secrets act, corruption, and electoral fraud.
Also Read: UN decries Myanmar junta's ‘politically-motivated’ Aung San Suu Kyi arrest
AFP reported that Suu Kyi's followers said that the charges against her are contrived to legitimize the military's actions and prevent her from returning to politics.
The United Nations Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet slammed the Myanmar junta over the conviction and sentencing of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to four years in prison and demanded her release. "The conviction of the State Counselor following a sham trial in secretive proceedings before a military-controlled court is nothing but politically-motivated," Michelle Bachelet said in a statement.
The conviction of Suu Kyi "closes another door to political dialogue" in Myanmar, where the military took power on February 1, and "will only deepen rejection of the coup," she said in a statement issued by her Geneva office.
